You're A Princess, Maya Hart
by tiramisuspice
Summary: "You are not just Maya Penelope Hart, dear. You are my granddaughter, Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart, Princess of Valderia and heir to the throne."
1. Prologue

~.~.~

Maya Penelope Hart. Fifteen years old. Sophomore at John Quincy Adams Private Academy.

Status: Former delinquent? Loser? …Not really sure.

~.~.~


	2. PART I

**If you haven't figured it out from the summary and title lol, this is a Princess Diaries AU. Been working on this since forever, but now I'm done!**

 **Note:** **In this story, Josh has absolutely no relation to Riley.**

 **This was inspired by Satellites on Parade and their version, Royally Flushed, for the YJ fandom! She writes Artemis like a pro and if you love Spitfire and Chalant and the Princess Diaries, I highly recommend.**

 **Rated T for The Heir To The Throne**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own these precious characters nor do I own the Princess Diaries.**

* * *

"Alright. Have courage, Maya."

Maya took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she clenched her fists. She stared at the oak door of her English teacher's office. She'd been standing there for a few minutes now, garnering weird looks from other teachers of the department as she tried desperately to find as many ways as possible to get out of the situation. But no matter what she thought of, she shortly dismissed the idea of being too crazy. Even pulling the fire alarm wouldn't do much but postpone the time of the meeting, but she would still end up having the meeting with Mr. Fairhaven eventually.

Sucking it up, she raised her hand and knocked briskly on the door.

"Who is it?" came his monotone reply.

"Maya Hart."

"You may enter."

Rolling her eyes, Maya pushed open the door and walked into the chilly office, already anticipating a migraine before the end of the meeting. Mr. Fairhaven was typing on his ancient desktop, his nose tipped down as he looked at his screen over the rim of his glasses. Her failed paper was resting on the edge of his desk on her side, facing her like a bad omen. It didn't help that his office was dark and had this dreary air to it that made her feel like she was on the chopping block.

"Have a seat, Miss Hart," he said, gesturing to the rickety wooden chair in front of the paper.

She sat down, shifting around a bit to try to find a more comfortable position for her butt. This chair was hard though and with every one of her motions, it groaned in protest, punctuating the quiet air conditioning with the squeaking of unoiled joints.

"Do you know why I asked you to come see me after school?" he began, fixing her with a brief look of disdain.

Because he had no life?

"Uh, no clue…" Maya muttered.

"Your assignment over the weekend was to write a paper about what you contribute to this esteemed private academy, Miss Hart," Mr. Fairhaven said in exasperation. Well, as exasperated as one could get speaking in monotone. "A paragraph on where you eat for lunch is not acceptable for a grade. It's not even passable."

Maya stared at her paragraph, fighting the urge to laugh at how ridiculous the entire thing was. What kind of student turned in that little and expected to pass? Truth be told, Maya _could_ have written a better paper had she not procrastinated and had she not been up late playing Goo Zombies online with Zay until dawn had broken. She'd woken up late as a result and had three minutes to write the paper before class that morning.

Well, if _that_ could even be called a paper. It wasn't exactly riveting material. But she figured if she appealed to Mr. Fairhaven's sympathy—if he had any— maybe she might get off with a lighter sentence. It'd be a hard sell to convince him to let her off easy in some way, but it was worth a try. And Maya was tenacious and stubborn if nothing else.

"But see, that's the thing," Maya said, trying to pull out some of that good old skill in debating her mother kept saying she had. "That's all I contribute to this school. I'm a scholarship student here, so I don't pay to attend courses."

"Miss Hart," he said sternly. "The assignment was not referring to just monetary contributions to the academy. Every student here has something to offer. What do you offer to the school?"

Maya slumped against the back of her chair. "I honestly don't know…"

And it was true. Unlike the million dollar trust fund kids, Maya had no idea what she could give to the school. To be honest, she didn't even know why the school even wanted her here.

Mr. Fairhaven removed his glasses and set them down beside his computer, sighing as he rubbed his temples with his fingertips.

"Miss, Hart—"

"Look, I know I've turned in better work before, and I know I can do better, but with all due respect, your assignment was biased," Maya stated with a shrug. He raised a questioning brow, and Maya took a deep breath, gearing up the excuse she'd been planning since he'd asked her to see him after school when class had let out before lunch. "Just because most of our English class is comprised of kids involved in the political clubs in school or some kind of leadership position that will ensure their acceptance in a top ten university, doesn't mean that we all are. What did you want me to say on the essay, that I work the Concession Stand for some home games on the weekends?

"I know you wanted us to write this essay with the mindset that it will jumpstart us into thinking about how our contributions now will not only aid us in our future, but also prepare us for answering those college prep questions for senior year. But if one does not intend to go to college, what is the purpose of this essay? And above that, what do our contributions to the school have anything to do with how successful we are as human beings? Just because I may not contribute much to the school doesn't mean I don't contribute much to my home life and family. There are many, many ways to show success through contributions and limiting it to just school is unfair."

Maya wasn't totally sure of her future plans, but one thing she knew for sure was that she was probably not going to go to college. She had a bit of an interest in Barnard, but it was expensive, and Maya wasn't confident that she'd be able to win another scholarship from somewhere to help offset the cost. There was only so much her mom could pay for, and they _were_ in a fairly low socioeconomic class.

It didn't matter anyway.

In the end, the other kids who had their parents' influence and old money or legacies would get established jobs from right out of college with minimal effort, some would take over their parents' businesses, and others would be headed to some of the most expensive graduate schools money could buy.

But Katy refused to listen. The _esteemed_ private school was only the beginning in her mother's big plans for Maya to achieve high success in society because she wanted more for her daughter. She'd applied Maya for JQA Private Academy after her stellar performance in junior high, and Maya had gotten in with a full grant and then some and that had been that. She'd come from public school to the most prestigious private academy in New York.

Katy didn't want Maya wasting her days away in one of the worst public schools in the city with friends who would rather set cars on fire, egg houses, and graffiti walls than study hard to prepare for their futures. Maya hadn't seen them in a year, but last she heard of Brandon and her old motley crew of anarchists and rebellious kids, they were calling her a sellout and a girl named Raven was basically the new leader now.

Maya honestly hadn't expected to make any friends in this snooty academy, particularly because most of these people had been going to school here since they were children and had already established their friend groups. But in her second week of freshman year, she realised she'd ended up in several classes with a pretty chill, cool, and fun guy named Zay, and they'd hit it off immediately. Zay was alright as far as a rich kid went and had been pretty much the only person Maya could tolerate. Maya hated this place—and especially the horrible, awkward, clunky Oxford shoes, scratchy wool grey skirts, and shoulder pads on the navy blazers that made her cry—but Zay was reason number one why she hadn't tried to burn the school down after the end of her first year.

"Well, Miss Hart," Mr. Fairhaven rested his folded hands on his desk, a vein ticking in his forehead, "I suppose if you are so passionate about the assignment being unfair and supposedly biased, then you can turn in a completed one to me by Friday about your contributions to _society_ and to your _household_."

"Wait…" That was _not_ how the conversation was supposed to go. "Are you serious?"

"Very. You will finish this assignment by Friday or you will be awarded a failing grade and detention for two weeks. Are we understood?"

Maya mentally groaned. Her plan had backfired. So. Damn. Hard. She'd forgotten all these teachers were pretty much hardass robots who couldn't care less about their students' plight. But then again, it could have been much worse. And at least he was giving her a chance to make up the full points.

She closed her eyes briefly so she could contain the itch to roll them to the sky. "Yes, Mr. Fairhaven."

She was rebellious to a point, but even she knew when to fight and when to fold the cards. The last thing she wanted to do was irritate him to the point that he worsened her punishment. She wanted to make a statement, not infuriate her teachers and make her life harder because they hated her. She was generally a pretty good student and got great grades, but she did have her moments where she settled back into her old habits of antagonising teachers who she didn't particularly like.

"I would also like you to give your failed paper to your guardian to sign and return to me tomorrow. Dismissed."

"Yes, Mr. Fairhaven." Maya repeated again, mentally cursing her luck that of all things to add in the punishment, he had to include telling her mother of her errors.

She stood from the rickety chair and picked up her book bag, carelessly shoved the "paper" into her sack as she dragged her feet out of his office.

This was not good. Katy wasn't a fan of bad grades, and Maya had promised her she'd stop getting in trouble and screwing around and that she'd get her life together. She was going to get the lecture of her life for this. And no doubt her mom would top it off with her usual "you've been given this opportunity, Maya. Don't take it for granted" speech that Maya could recite from memory by now, she'd heard it so many times.

As she rounded the corner of the hall to head to her locker, Missy Bradford fell into step beside her, idly texting on her phone as was customary for the long haired brunette.

"How'd your meeting with Fairhaven go, Scrub?" Missy asked, nearly plowing into someone walking in the opposite direction and ignoring their dirty look when they were forced to move over.

"He didn't take to my passionate speech about my contributions outside of school," Maya sighed, rolling her eyes at the reminder of his vindictive response. "Algebra test?"

"Failed." Missy slipped her phone back into the pocket of her cashmere cardigan. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going to college as long as my mum keeps spending all our money on botox and silicone for her boobs. I swear if she fills them up one more time, they'll pop."

It was pretty funny to Maya how much Missy had changed. Once upon a time, she'd been one of the Pops, conceited beyond belief and someone who Maya had always seen as particularly nasty. Towards the middle of freshman year though, she suddenly got up from her usual table, plopped down at Maya and Zay's, and started eating with them ever since. They'd been confused the first few times it happened, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them, but eventually they got used to her presence. The three had been inseparable ever since. Now she was their best friend and reason number two why Maya hadn't set the school on fire.

Missy had been officially kicked out of the Pops, but she much preferred to be her lazy true self over the fake perception of perfection with the stick up her ass. She was still prissy, but a cool kind of prissy that Maya enjoyed hanging out with a lot.

Maya snorted. "Let's not forget your dad's 'business trips' and spending on _Candy_ and _Crystale_."

"Oh yes. And we can't exclude _Chardonnay_ ," Missy added in the same sarcastic tone. "Hold on. I need to buy a drink."

They stopped by the snack cart in front of the school spirit store, standing in line behind a bunch of other teens all waiting to buy something. They made small talk, discussing the nose job one of the seniors definitely had gotten and the girl in their grade who passed on mono to a guy who definitely had a girlfriend and the drama that was going to arise from that. Once it was finally their turn, Missy bought Maya a pack of cookies and a coffee for herself.

"What's with the coffee?" Maya asked.

"It's early," Missy replied with a yawn.

"…You know it's three thirty, right?"

"I consider that early in my books." Missy readjusted her blouse, flattening the material so that it looked less dishevelled. "No, but actually, I have to go to a 'hearing' with Headmaster Yancy and the Interdisciplinary Council for all the demerits I got this month alone. I need my mind sharp and ready to refute any and all claims by that annoying little turd Tattle Tale Tabitha."

"Demerits for what? Missy, what did you do this time?" Maya chastised playfully.

"My skirt was above the required length for our uniform a couple times."

"A couple?" Maya snarked as they stopped in front of her locker so Maya could grab her books. There wasn't a day that went by that Maya and Zay didn't catch a peek of Missy's hot pink panties.

"But it's not fair! I'm a fairly tall girl with fairly long arms! I don't think it's fair that we're held to the same standard as the midgets of our school like you. No offence."

"None taken."

"The skirt lengths should be determined by the proportion of our leg length and arm length to our heights, not some fingertip rule. What if someone has long, alien fingertips, huh?" Missy smiled. "How's my speech? You think it's good enough to convince them not to give me detention?"

"It's as good as my speech was in convincing Fairhaven to let me off the hook," she said dryly in response.

Missy's brows furrowed. "But you didn't convince him…"

"Exactly."

Missy sighed, leaning back against the lockers and picking at the glitter on her nails. "As I thought. Should I seduce Yancy?"

"Oh God… I'm going to be sick." Maya pretended to hurl. "You would consider that an option?"

"I mean, I must have gained at least that skill from my floozy mum if nothing else, right?"

Maya laughed as she rolled out her locker combination and swung it open. A handful of old papers fell out and she stooped to pick them up and replace them on the pile of disorder.

"Where's Zay? Isn't he usually here by now?"

"He's trying to convince Wilmington to change his grade from a D plus to a C minus."

"That is _so_ not happening." Missy chuckled.

"Well then I guess you'll be surprised to hear that it _so_ did," Zay said, suddenly appearing beside them with a grin. He held up his test in front of both their faces where his previous grade was scratched out, replaced by a fresh C. "Read it and weep. Wilmington was charmed by me."

"I forgot how utterly charming you are sometimes…" Missy rolled her eyes with a drawl. "It's the smile, I bet. It's worth like a million bucks."

"Urgh, teach me your ways, Zay." Maya bemoaned, tossing him her jacket to hold while she tried to stuff the rest of her books in her already overfilled bag. "I failed my paper."

"C'mon, Blondie," Zay said, giving her an amused look. "You barely wrote a paragraph of sentence fragments and called it a day. Even my magic personality couldn't make that miracle happen. What's your punishment?"

"Rewriting the paper by Friday."

"That's not so bad. You made it sound like it was doomsday." Missy pointed out.

" _Annnnnd_ … my mom has to sign the failed paper."

"Yikes," Zay said with a grimace as Missy tsked apologetically and said, "You're done for."

"I know…" Maya groaned, resting her forehead against her locker. It just wasn't fair. Fifteen years of life only for it to be prematurely ended before she reached her sixteenth all because of this paper. "Here lies Maya Penelope Hart. Got one bad grade and got served a can of whoopass by her mom."

"Did you get in trouble today too?" Zay asked Missy who was chuckling at Maya's dramatics.

"Yupp…" she responded, running a hand through her tresses to smooth out the (nonexistent) tangles. "I have a meeting with Yancy and the IDC in ten minutes."

"So we're three for three on a crappy day today. This school is kicking our asses." Zay shook his head sadly. "So what will you do about Katy? Are you going to forge her signature?"

"And get punted out of my home? No thanks. I'm just going to suck it up and hope that maybe I can appeal to her sympathy."

"I'm pretty sure it's been established that that doesn't work, Scrub." Missy chuckled.

"On _these_ robots. It'll work on my mom." Maya slammed her locker shut, resetting her lock so that all she would have to do is turn it once in the morning and it would open. "All I have to do is say I was up talking to Zay the night before the paper was due because I only really have a few friends, and the minute I mention the friend bit, she'll go all guilty."

"Hmmm, well once you're no longer grounded, because let's face it, you'll get grounded," Zay snarked and Maya flipped him off, "do you guys want to come over this weekend? My best friend from when I lived in Texas is transferring here. We're hanging out on Saturday, and I want him to meet the ladies in my life."

"Best friend, huh? So who are we to you exactly?" Missy menaced, narrowing her eyes at him.

Zay opened his mouth to respond and Maya quickly interjected. "If you say anything about pimps, bitches, or anything related to that, we're going to stuff you in a locker."

He snorted and tossed Maya's jacket back to her. "He's a year older than us, a junior, but we've always been pretty close. We basically grew up on his Pappy Joe's ranch together before I moved here. He probably won't be accustomed to city life. I wanted you guys to help break him in a bit to show him people here are actually cool before he gets thrown headfirst into JQA."

"He grew up on a ranch and has a Pappy Joe?" Maya started laughing. "He's a country bumpkin, isn't he? Oh man, he's totally a country bumpkin! Does he wear overalls and whittle on his porch? I bet his idea of an amusement park is a corn maze!"

Zay rose a brow. "Believe it or not, he's actually normal, save for his abnormally dashing good looks and charm."

"What's his name?" Maya snickered. "Billy Bob Joe Bob? Ranger Rick? Cletis?"

"It's Lucas Friar."

"Huh. That's more normal than I would have expected," Missy said thoughtfully, taking a sip of her drink. "I'm a little disappointed."

"Laugh it up now. You won't be singing the same tune when you actually meet him," he said in this warning tone. "He's one captivating dude when he wants to be."

"How's his accent?" Maya asked.

"He's got a twang," Zay said, bemused. Missy snorted as Maya cracked up again. "But he's actually a nice guy, so go easy on him, yeah?"

"Can't wait to meet him," Missy said deviously. "Your _dashing_ , Prince Charming hick best friend."

"You know who else _is_ dashing?" Maya said, changing the subject as she stared down the hallway, her heart racing in her chest.

Zay and Missy gave each other exhausted looks and exaggerated eye rolls.

" _Josh Matthews_ ," they said mockingly in unison.

Maya sighed wistfully, her hand set dramatically on her heart as she watched Joshua Matthews walk in slow motion down the hallway. Hair tousled to perfection, sexy crooked smirk on his lips, blue eyes dancing. He was laughing about something one of his friends had said, his laughter infectious, cascading down the hallway and rendering Maya's heartbeat thrumming wildly in her ears.

She'd had a huge crush on Josh—an unattainable senior—ever since he told her during homecoming last year that she was cute. She could remember it like it was yesterday. She hadn't wanted to go to the dance, but her mother had forced her so she could try to get more involved in the school, and Zay somehow convinced her so they could go and laugh at all the people who couldn't dance. She'd gone to grab some punch (the non-spiked version, thank you very much) when Josh had accidently bumped into her and made her spill a bit on her dress. He'd apologised to her and then when she'd been upset about the stain he'd told her "you're pretty cute; you should dress up more often." He'd flashed those baby blues, had grinned that crooked smile of his that made her heart thump painfully hard in her chest and that had been that.

Cupid had shot her point blank with an arrow.

"Can you blame me? He's gorgeous," Maya murmured, watching him and wishing she'd get the chance to date him one day.

He was a dream boat. Her dream guy. The guy she knew she was destined to be with once he finally realised she was perfect for him and asked her out.

"Oh gag me," Missy growled in disdain. "He's also _not_ single and his girlfriend Maisie Stewart is horrid and what the heck, Maya. The dude basically told you he thinks you're not worth noticing without makeup and cute clothes. What do you see in him?"

"That wasn't what he was implying when he said that," Maya said indignantly. "And there's nothing wrong with fawning over a sweet, cute guy. Besides, I was a freshman and a new kid and somehow, he knew who I was or something, so that has to count for something that he noticed me, right?"

"Well here's your chance to talk to him." Missy's eyes narrowed into slits directed at Josh as he made his way past the trio. "Though I don't know why you would want to…"

"Hey Josh," Maya quickly said, drawing his attention to them. "You uh… you did great at your tennis match on Saturday! Congrats on the win!"

Zay gave her an amused look, and Maya fought her urge to cringe at her overenthusiastic greeting. She sounded so stupid even to her own ears. Josh's friends snickered beside him, and Maya could feel her cheeks heat.

"Oh, I know I did great." He smiled. "But thanks, Mara."

With a wink, he and his friends continued down the hallway.

Zay folded his lips in, his breathing harsh as he tried to hold back his laughter. Missy's glare followed Josh as he continued down the corridor.

"Shut it." Maya crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Neither of you say a word."

"Whatever you say, _Mara_." Zay snickered.

"It's a start. At least he didn't call me Mandy this time."

"I can't take this!"

Zay broke down into loud laughter, very obviously at Maya's expense. Maya rolled her eyes at him, though she supposed it was a tiny bit funny. Although she really had to get Josh to remember her name.

"I can't believe you have a crush on this guy. He's a total arrogant dingbat," Missy said with a disgusted sneer. "I would know. I used to be in the group that breeds his kind. Anyway, I've got a hearing to get to. Wish me luck. If I don't come back to school, avenge me."

"You're a goner," Zay said.

"It's been nice knowing you," Maya added.

"I hate you both…" Missy stormed off, demanding people move out of her way when she made it clear she had no qualms ramming right into them.

Zay stretched his arms high with a satisfied sigh before turning to Maya as she slid on her comfortable brown leather jacket. "Want to come over and watch TV? I have cable and there's a convenience store a block away from my place. Just to remind you."

"Oh, that sounds…" Maya tapered off, her smile dropping from her face, replaced by a grimace. For a second, she'd almost thought the day was a normal afternoon with her friends. But then she remembered what her mother had to sign and how her life was probably going to end that day. "I can't… Doomsday, remember?"

"All the more reason for you to spend your last day with your best friend, right?" He nudged her playfully. "C'mon, Blondie. What's wrong with delaying the end of the world for a couple hours?"

"I'm about to be locked away for life and the only thing you can think of is watching TV? Some friend you are," Maya drawled as they made their way towards the front of the school.

"I'll buy you anything you want~" He waggled his eyebrows. "Tempting offer, isn't it?"

"…Three things. And they can't be less than two bucks."

"One thing. And it won't be less than five."

She grinned. "That's acceptable."

"Alright. Let's go, Blondie."

Delaying it didn't mean that her task would disappear though.

She was doomed.

~.~.~

Maya walked down the sidewalk of her street, kicking a pebble absentmindedly and trying to think of ways to start the unfortunate conversation of her insufficient work with her mother. But no matter what scenario or excuses she cooked up in her mind or what words she said to try to invoke her mother's lenience, Maya always imagined it ending with being tossed out of the apartment on her heinie.

She'd lost track of time when Zay's married neighbours—Louis and Edna Mayfield—got into a very loud argument once again about Louis' mother. They were so much better than reality TV. Maya could listen to them for hours and hours on end, and once they got started, it was hard not to get engrossed in Edna's complaints about her mother-in-law's vindictive behaviour and Louis' whiney responses. By the time their argument wound down and turned into something else entirely (that made her ears bleed, by the way), it was already well past eight. Maya's mom was almost certainly home from the diner, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she got a threatening text for her to return. Katy was always wary of Maya staying out late due to her propensity for getting into trouble in the past.

So with a final dramatic goodbye hug to Zay with fake crocodile tears, she'd hopped on a subway and made her way home as quickly as she could.

Hence her current dilemma: trying to figure out a way to bring up the failed grade without incurring her mother's wrath.

Sighing, Maya kicked the pebble with more force than intended and it bounced waywardly down the concrete until it tumbled into the street and hit the wheel of a sleek black car.

Correction: sleek black _limousine_.

There was a limo parked outside her apartment complex.

Maya stared at it in confusion, wondering if she was hallucinating. What the heck was a limo doing in her neighbourhood and in front of her complex no less?

And she wasn't the only one confused. Several of the people walking on the sidewalk were staring at it in awe, clearly also baffled by the image that lay before them. Some of her complex neighbours were taking pictures of the limo and there were a couple kids peeking in the windows to try to see inside. Maya looked in the passenger window and save for a driver's hat on the front seat, there was no one in there. She briefly wondered if maybe someone from school had come to pay her a visit. A bunch of the students showed up in their limos every day.

Ah, who was she kidding? That was beyond wishful thinking. There was no way the owner of the limo was here for little old her.

Straightening up and knowing she was just using her distraction to stall the inevitable, Maya turned and headed inside her complex, waving at the lobby man as she made her way up the stairs. It was a quiet evening in her usually bustling apartment, but Maya figured that was because the late October air had recently gotten nippier in the city and people were starting to stay indoors more often to prepare for the biting cold of winter.

"Maybe making Mom some hot cocoa might work to smooth out her edges a bit…" Maya mused as she put her key in her apartment door, knowing her mother's high affinity for chocolate usually calmed her down when she started to get a little crazy. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.

Maya pushed open her door with a deep breath, expecting to see her mother jovially whipping something amazing up in the kitchen or lounging on the couch, watching TV with an ice pack on her head from a tiring day, or like on especially bad days, staring at photos of her wedding day fifteen years ago.

(Maya desperately hoped it would not be the last one).

Instead she found her mother seated on their worn down ottoman, wringing her hands nervously in her lap and sitting ramrod straight, a deep, worrying apprehension etched in her expression. Across from her sat two women, a gorgeous Asian woman with a perfectly crafted blank look on her face looking effortlessly cool in her head to toe leather and an older woman, possibly in her sixties, wearing some fancy and probably super expensive designer dress. Maya's eyes were drawn to the decadent diamonds adorning her neck and ears, glittering in the light of the living room. On the table were three cups of untouched tea in the fancy china that Maya and her mother only used for super special occasions and big holidays.

And that was how Maya knew the two guests were very important. She didn't know how important, but her mind was brought back to the limousine she'd seen in the street.

But the thing that _really_ surprised Maya about these clearly well to do guests was how familiar the old woman looked. Something about her face made Maya realise that she might have seen her before, though she couldn't quite pinpoint where or when.

"…Mom?" Maya asked suspiciously, closing the door slowly as all three women turned their gazes on her. "What's going on?"

"Take a seat, baby girl. Please."

Her solemn tone of voice was enough to send chills down Maya's back and without a word, she squeezed a place for herself on the ottoman with her mother. There wasn't really enough room for them both, but something about Katy's demeanour, though strong and steady, had an underlying fear in it that made Maya want to support her mom in any way she could. Besides, she was getting a bad vibe over this whole ordeal and her mother's presence was definitely a comfort.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on any time soon?" Maya asked, setting her bag down beside her legs, the failed paper long forgotten in lieu of these mysterious events.

"I would like to introduce you to Her Majesty, the Dowager Queen of Valderia, April Dungworth," Katy said, gesturing halfheartedly to the prim old woman who bowed her head slightly with a soft, almost whimsical smile.

And that was when Maya understood why her face looked so familiar.

"Holy shit—"

"Maya, _language_ ," Katy said, looking embarrassed.

"You look like May Clutterbucket… Or like an aged version."

The weirdo great-grandmother of hers she'd seen in some polaroid a long time ago. Her father had only mentioned her once a long time ago when he used to live with them, but otherwise, didn't say much about his estranged grandmother. Apparently the elusive woman disappeared off into the west, never to be heard from again.

"Maya, don't be rude!" Katy chastised. "I'm so sorry, April."

"It's quite alright Katy, darling," the woman chortled. She had a fairly thick accent—almost French Maya wanted to say—but there was a quality to it that seemed blended with something else. This woman was clearly foreign. "And I would assume so, Maya. She is my mother after all."

Maya frowned, blinking for a second though the information didn't quite register. "What?"

"Allow me to reintroduce myself," she said, sitting up straighter, a picture of pure elegance and regal beauty all wrapped up in a short, blonde package. She commanded Maya's rapt attention without so much as a small change in her posture. "My name is April Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Claire Dungworth. I am the sadly widowed Queen of the country of Valderia in Europe, daughter of the late May Dungworth, sister of the late June Dungworth, and mother of Kermit Dungworth."

Maya licked her lips, swallowing thickly and staring blankly at April. Was her hearing messed up? This May Clutterbucket lookalike woman was apparently the queen of a country. But more importantly… that meant…

"You're my grandmother?" Maya asked, her voice faint.

"I am." She smiled, lifting both hands and gesturing to Maya proudly. "And you? You are not just Maya Penelope Hart, dear. You are my granddaughter, Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart, Princess of Valderia and heir to the throne!"

It took the words a few seconds to reach her brain, and when they did Maya could do nothing but blink stupidly at her mother and the silent leather woman and her apparent _grandmother_.

She was a princess?

All the popcorn she'd consumed at Zay's suddenly churned uncomfortably in her stomach as April's words sunk in fully.

She was a princess.

Maya stood up on shaky legs, her mind spinning as she walked unsteadily to the kitchen. She turned on the water in the sink, staring at it as it disappeared down the drain.

"Maya?" Katy asked in alarm.

"I'm okay, Mom," Maya reassured her.

Then she leaned over the sink and everything in her stomach was forced out of her mouth, her vision blurring with tears as she hurled in the sink. There were wet, garbled nearly digested popcorn chunks hitting the metal surface, but the only thing Maya could register was the roaring of the water coming out of the faucet.

(Or was that all the blood rushing to her head?)

Maya started laughing, a little hysterically, though she didn't know what the heck was even funny about this and she didn't find it amusing one bit. Katy and April both stood from the couch uneasily, watching her with furrowed brows as she rinsed out her mouth and then wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Really, I'm fine."

Was what she said.

Then she promptly fainted.

~.~.~

It was pretty embarrassing that she'd passed out and when Maya sat up from the couch, groggy and disoriented, her mother got her a glass of water to calm down. Maya almost thought she'd been pranked and that she'd had a bad dream for a minute, until she looked around and saw the two strange guests nearby, watching her in concern.

"…Right, so what just happened?" Maya asked slowly, gulping down the whole cup in one large swig. Katy refilled it, and Maya gratefully drank it all. Her mouth and throat were so dry it felt like she'd been in a desert for weeks or something.

"You're a princess, my dear," April continued. "A princess and the future queen of a country with a rich heritage."

Her supposed "grandmother" must have taken Maya's blank look as interest or _something_ because she immediately launched into some (no doubt) pre-planned speech complete with exaggerated hand and arm motions and pride in her voice. The stoic, leather clad Asian woman was even flipping pages of some Valderian picture book and nodding along to the tale.

Valderia was a principality between France and Italy with a constitutional monarchy run by her father's family's bloodline, no matter how diluted by this point. Maya was sure it'd popped up in a history book in the past and she'd heard the name of the country before, but it was such an obscure little, dorky country that it was hardly relevant.

Apparently, May was the queen of Valderia and through her marriage, had her eldest June and twelve years later, April, but May ditched the throne when June became of age to rule, running away and disappearing, never to be heard from again. June passed away from ovarian cancer about a decade later before producing an heir, so April became the queen at the tender age of eleven. Several years later, April had Kermit who became king once April stepped down when he became of age, but he ran off when they tried to force him into a political marriage to ease tensions with one of the noble families.

(Apparently, his actions had caused a rift between the royal family and those nobles, who to this day remained their family's greatest opposition and enemies. Rumours had it that they were plotting to usurp the throne one day and through this turmoil of waiting for an heir to be announced, they only grew more zealous and determined in their machinations to take the throne).

April returned to rule when Kermit deserted, but her husband died, and she was unable to have any more children, so they searched for him to bring him back. By the time they found him, Kermit had already run away from his past, ditching Katy and Maya.

Or in other words, selfishly left Maya to carry the burden of the throne.

It was a lengthy speech, but Maya got the basic gist of it. Unless Maya accepted the crown and continued to rule in her father's place, the crown would be given to another noble family and their family's bloodline in the monarchy would be lost forever with April.

Or in other words, she was trying to guilt trip Maya into accepting.

All the information about her lineage was thrown at Maya at record speed, but she barely bothered to focus on any of it. She was still stuck at the damn part where April was her apparent _grandmother_. Fifteen years of life and suddenly this bat shit crazy woman came out of nowhere claiming to be her grandma? It was unbelievable.

But who was Maya kidding?

Of course April was her grandmother. Their resemblance was _uncanny_ and now that Maya was really taking a good look at her, she could definitely see the similarities in some of their features. Maya took after the members of her father's family quite a bit, and April was no exception. The downward slope of their noses, the thickness of their brows, their piercing blue eyes. It was almost like she was looking at a somewhat aged version of _herself_.

And it freaked the crap out of her.

Anger and apprehension and confusion bubbled up in her all at once, and Maya couldn't listen to this crappy explanation any longer. She _didn't_ want to. She felt like she was going to hurl again if she heard one more word.

"You expect me to believe that crud?!" Maya suddenly blurted out, shooting to her feet. April fell abruptly silent, her mouth snapping shut as she stared up at Maya in surprise. Katy watched Maya warily. "You really want me to believe that my great-grandmother, May Clutterbucket, was royalty? Her last name was _Clutterbucket_."

"Not just royalty. The former queen." April cleared her throat. "And Clutterbucket was a fake last name used to avoid being found. May's real name was Dungworth."

"Great… so my last name is Dungworth," Maya said dryly. "Because that's _so_ much better than Clutterbucket."

"No, baby girl," Katy piped up quietly. "Your last name is Hart. We used mine on your birth certificate so you wouldn't be recognised as royalty when you were young."

"Well, your official documentation says your name is Maya Penelope Hart, but your real name, is Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart," April proclaimed proudly again. "A name for each of the large families that have made up our rich ancestry and lineage. Some Dutch, mostly Italian and French, and just a little bit of German. Does it not excite you?"

"Right…" Maya drawled, deciding to ignore that. As far as she was concerned, she had _three_ names. Not seven hundred. "So this country of yours just _happened_ to lose its queen back then, huh? Well how'd she end up in a café in the 60s in America?"

"Like I said, my mother had always been quite the runner. She didn't like being forced to rule. A free spirit," April said with a fond smile. "She would go on a lot of long trips for months on end, always leaving the throne to my older sister June while she ran off to enjoy her life in disguises. But one day, she never returned, and June became the permanent queen."

"I don't get it… Why the hell do you need me if you can just rule?"

Katy sighed in exasperation. "Maya please. Just hear her out."

"Why should I? Here I am living my life and struggling to make it through some shit school and all of a sudden—out of nowhere, might I add—this crazy lady that I have never met and has never tried to meet me comes and tells me that she's my grandmother and that I'm a damn _princess_ and that I come from this crazy estranged lineage on my father's side that I have never heard of in my life! I am not the crown princess of Valderia, and you?" Maya jabbed a finger in the direction of the affronted old woman. "You need to be locked up in a straitjacket in a padded room. Mom, how could you buy into this dumb hoax?"

"Because it's not a hoax…" Katy sighed, staring at a worn spot on their carpet in shame. "I never told you this, Maya, but I've known since you were a baby. And I knew they were going to come back when you were of age to prepare you to rule."

Maya stared at her mother, and the demure way she was seated, almost as if she was caving in on herself. Guilt. It was such a stark difference from the authoritative way her mother usually was. A screwball, yes, but not one to take crap from anyone. And Maya knew this was all true. Every single bit of it, no matter how stupid it all sounded to her ears; it was all true.

And it stung.

Suddenly, the realisation that her mother knew all along about this but had kept it from her made Maya's heart twist hard in her chest. She clenched her shaking fist, taking slow breaths in and out to keep her anger in check.

"My son deserted the throne, so now it's up to you," April supplied cheerfully. "You have a duty to serve your country, Maya."

" _My_ country?" Maya snapped, turning her glare on April. "No. Valderia is _your_ country and _your_ home. I have no ties to that place; why the hell should I care what happens to it?"

"Because whether you like it or not, for the rest of your life, you are the rightful ruler of the throne, and no matter who rules, you will always be a threat to the legitimacy of their rule," April explained steadily, her gaze serious. "You will be a target regardless, but at least if you're actually on the throne you can have your proper status and better protection."

"And then what?" Maya spat. "Next you'll be telling me I need to pop out a couple kids as quickly as possible so the bloodline doesn't die out, right?"

"You seem to understand the precarious situation quite well."

"Sarcasm, lady. I'm not going to be your little political marionette, so buzz off."

"Maya, don't be rude," Katy said, resigned and halfhearted, as if she knew no matter what she said, it wouldn't matter to the livid Maya.

Maya ignored her. "If you're so concerned about the bloodline of the monarchy being conserved, why don't you ask one of Kermit's other kids?"

"Come now, Maya. His oldest is eight," April tsked her gently, giving her a look like she was being utterly ridiculous. "Do you think a throne is fit to be led by a child who can't quite learn or understand the nuances of negotiation and politics yet? And besides, they are his children through marriage but do not carry his blood."

"Well, what about me? I'm not a legal adult! Hell, I'm not even _sixteen_!"

"But you will be in three months. Definitely of age to begin learning the art of ruling and being a leader. Besides, I became a queen at eleven. I'm sure you will be just fine," she responded calmly as she rearranged her shawl on her shoulders.

Her nonchalance over the whole thing was really starting to tick Maya off. How could she just prattle on and on about life changing circumstances like this as if it was as simple as moving up to the next grade in school.

"Look, you're asking for a lot here, lady. And. It's. _Crazy_! Just because you ruled at eleven, doesn't mean I am anywhere ready for anything like that!"

She could feel herself panicking, her pulse racing wildly and heart beating erratically in her chest. Was she hyperventilating? The back of her eyes were stinging with tears from the helplessness of the situation. Her mother wasn't even trying to stop this from happening and it felt like she was being forced into a corner.

"Maya. Listen. I'm not asking you to jump right into the monarchy. I'm not asking you to change your entire life yet. Just let me tutor you into being a suitable monarch for our throne. And once you're eighteen, you will succeed the throne and become queen of Valderia."

"Can you just stop for a second?! I can't be a princess!" Maya exhaled brusquely, her vision blurring with frustrated tears that she swiped away angrily. "This is crazy talk! You can't just dump all this information on me at once and expect it to make any damn sense whatsoever. And above that, stop acting like it's a done deal, like I'm just going to stop being Maya and run off to your dorky little country just because you said so! I don't want to be the queen of Valderia, and I don't want your fucking throne!"

She stood there in silence, sniffling jaggedly as the three women just stared at her. She felt so stupid for crying, but she couldn't help it. She just felt so helpless and lost and she didn't know who she was anymore and it was making her feel like her entire life, everything she thought she was and knew, was all a lie. And the person who she needed the most—her mother—wasn't even on her side this time.

"Well…" April stood up with a sigh. "Perhaps this was a bad time."

Katy stood up as well. "I'm so sorry. It's just a lot for her to take in at once."

"It's quite alright. I expected this kind of outburst. But no matter." She smiled jovially, undaunted by the awkward tensions lingering in the air. "Once she is ready to talk about it, if you want to continue this conversation, you know where to find me. I'll be at the Valderian embassy."

The Asian woman rose to her feet and helped April put on her coat before walking to the door and opening it up for the queen. And just as quickly as they were a tornado that threw off Maya's life and wrecked everything she knew about her life in their path, they disappeared in a whirlwind of expensive clothes and sharp perfume that Maya could never dream of affording.

It was like a damn _slap_. Swift and sudden, bringing a whole lot of confusion in its wake and leaving a fading sting of its dealt damage.

"Maya? Baby girl? Talk to me," Katy said worriedly.

"I don't know what to say." Maya slumped down on the vacant couch, her limbs and body heavy. She was unable to muster up the strength to rise. "Mom… why didn't you ever tell me about Dad? He was a king?"

"Yes. I married royalty and never knew until Valderian representatives came to our house when you were five to bring him back. That secret was the reason why your father and I divorced. They lost track of Kermit when he split, and they decided to make you the official heir. They told me when the time came, they would be coming to prepare you for ruling Valderia."

Maya sniffled, feeling the fresh sting of tears in the back of her eyes again. She hated this. She didn't even know why she felt like crying, but the feeling was there, and she bit her lower lip to stop the tears until she could taste the metallic flavour of her blood.

"Maya, I was going to tell you eventually, but you've made some amazing friends, and you blossomed and you were just so happy, I didn't want you to think you were different from them. I wanted you to feel normal."

"And what good does that do now?! Not only did I end up with an undeserved burden for ruling, but I'll never feel normal around them again! This is going to follow me for the rest of my life because you were being a coward!"

Katy's eyes brimmed with tears as she met Maya's gaze. "Maya, please try to understand."

"Mom, we're supposed to support each other through thick and thin, yet you have no qualms keeping such huge secrets and lying to me!" Maya was appalled by her voice wavering, but she refused to step down from her vindication. "What good is trust if you don't have any in me?!"

"I'm sorry. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Too late! And what about my dreams, huh? Am I just supposed to give up my entire life here and move to some foreign country I barely know?"

"No one is forcing you to become queen, Maya! They just want to train you," Katy replied a bit sharply, clearly growing impatient with Maya.

"To become a damn queen, Mom! They want to _train me_ to become a queen! What is wrong with you all?" Maya shot up, having had enough of this ridiculous day. She began to leave the living room, wanting to be alone. "It sure as hell feels like you all are trying to guilt me into doing this, and it won't work!"

"Maya, we're not done discussing this!" Katy yelled.

"Yes, we are!" Maya shouted, stomping down the hallway straight into her room and slamming the door shut. "Piss off, Mom! And tell the old bat to piss off too!"

She plopped face first on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and biting down on her trembling lower lip when she was on the verge of sobbing uncontrollably. Ginger crawled beside her neck, curling up into a little spiral and pressing her wet nose against Maya's skin. Sniffling, Maya reached up and gently stroked her ferret, trying to calm herself down.

Why was everyone so damn selfish? Choosing her life for her, making decisions for her, never letting her be who she wanted to be. Her mother had forced her to change schools, was probably going to force her to go to college, and now she was nearly being forced to be some queen of a country she knew nothing about.

 _Princess_? Maya was no princess.

Princesses were girls like that Riley Matthews chick at the top of the food chain with perfectly coiffed hair and flawless lives and families. Princesses were demure, charming, selfless girls who had perfect grades and attitudes. Princesses were girls who teachers loved who never had run-ins with the law.

Maya was not princess material.

Who the hell was April kidding?

~.~.~

Maya didn't realise she'd dozed off until she woke up from a fitful sleep at the crack of dawn. Sunlight streamed through her blinds onto her face and she squinted from the light, sitting up slowly as birds on the fire escape chirped merrily.

It felt like any normal day, like the thoughts swirling in her head and soft throbbing of her headache were just remnants of a bad dream. But as she showered and got ready for her day, the weight of the events of the prior evening all came rushing back to her. The revelation and truth about her heritage and past. Her estranged grandmother suddenly popping back into her life. Her deserting father, the king of Valderia. Maya being next in line to rule.

Maya being _royalty_.

Groaning, she leaned back against the wall, trying to slow down her racing thoughts. Everything just felt like it was spiralling out of control. It was crazy. One second, she'd been freaking out over how to avoid getting in trouble with her mom over a bad grade and now she was freaking out over the fact that she apparently had to _rule_ an entire country. Forget the fact that this was sprung on her out of nowhere; just knowing that she had to be the _leader_ of an entire nation was scaring the crap out of her.

The same thoughts turned in her mind over and over until she realised the water had become a chilling cold and that her skin was rubbery, the tips of her fingers and toes prune-y and wrinkled. She ran a hand through her wet hair with a sigh, moving on autopilot as she left the shower and continued her ritual to get ready for the day.

Maya dragged herself to the kitchen to find something to eat, trying to tighten her uniform tie and failing when her fingers fumbled with the cloth. Katy had made her favourite breakfast—fresh waffles with homemade bourbon pecan maple syrup—and left a note that if she wanted to skip school, she could. But Maya knew her friends would be worried about her if she didn't show up. And the last thing Maya wanted to do was be at home with only her thoughts. She needed a distraction, and she sure as hell wasn't going to find that distraction at her home.

So she'd grabbed her stuff and hightailed it to school, regardless of how early it was or how hungry she was. She left the breakfast untouched to be petulant. If her mother thought she could butter her up with her favourite thing to get her to forgive her for keeping such a big secret for so many years, she had another think coming. Maya was still irritated with her, and she wasn't planning on giving an inch.

Which was why she found herself sitting on the bleachers of the lower field, huddled up in her thick jacket, blowing air into her hands every few minutes to get the feeling back in them as she read information on her computer. It was freezing this morning, much colder than Maya had anticipated, and she kind of lamented the fact that she'd decided to be so stubborn on a day like this.

She sighed as she continued her research, watching as the soft puff of air dissipated into the frosty October air. She'd done some investigating of her own on this Valderia place. It was a weird little country known well for its _pears_. Which the Valderians put in or on _everything_. Apparently one huge delicacy was pear marmalade on top of sausage. Pears were something like the equivalent of mayonnaise to Belgians, only much more disgusting.

(Pears in tomato soup? Maya wanted to die).

Soccer and rugby were the most popular sports as well. The country's resorts on the beach front had some of the best sites to see and were one of the greatest vacation destinations for families. Plus there were plenty of nude beaches and white water rafting zones for the more adventurous vacationers.

She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't notice Zay sneak up near her until he plopped a brown paper bag on the bench beside her. He settled down on the bleacher rack in front of hers.

"Fresh croissants from that bakery near my place. You want them? There are a couple left."

Maya slammed the top of her laptop shut in surprise, almost jumping as her vision focused on Zay. She knew she must have looked crazy staring at him wide eyed like a deer caught in headlights because he frowned in concern.

"What's got you so jumpy, Blondie?"

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly, though she took the bag gratefully and nearly tore it open to get to the food. Her stomach was killing her; she'd been out here a pretty long time and her stomach had been grumbling in protest for a while now. Maybe skipping breakfast hadn't been the brightest idea. "Just uh… stuff."

His gaze grew playful. "Then why'd you close your lid so fast, eh? Are you watching something inappropriate for school grounds?"

"Yes," Maya lied, taking off a huge bite. "Yes, I am! I am _such_ a bad girl, aren't I?"

"You're lying. Seriously, what's going on with you?" Zay asked sincerely, turning his legs so he was facing her directly. "I mean, aside from you acting like you've got something to hide, you've obviously been here a while and you rarely wake up on time for homeroom. So why are you here well before school starts?"

"Why are you?" she countered, though she was starting to grow more anxious. Zay had always been able to read her pretty well.

"Cheerleading runs drills every Tuesday morning on the field. _In_ their uniforms—the cute ones with the long sleeves, but the itty bitty skirts. What a sight for sore eyes." Zay grinned a bit wolfishly. "Can I help it that Vanessa and Sarah are cute and that I have a thing for perky cheerleaders?"

"You're like a dirty old man, Zay," Maya said.

"C'mon, Blondie. Something is clearly on your mind. Tell me what's wrong." Zay nudged her knee. "That's the whole point of having friends, you know? We're your go to for ranting."

Maya chewed contemplatively, staring out into the distance where the cross country teams had also begun laps around the track for their morning workout. Was it a good idea to tell him about her revelations? Part of her really wanted to. Despite his slacker ways, Zay gave great advice and having his support and him having knowledge of what she was going through could really help her figure some things out. But on the other hand, this was a _huge_ secret. And if her mother had kept this from her all her life, Maya got the feeling that this was something to keep to herself for now.

"Umm… hypothetically speaking," she nibbled on the soft, flaky crust of her croissant, "let's say I became a princess. Let's say my name is Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart. Thoughts?"

Zay was silent for a moment, staring at her with furrowed brows. Then he started laughing hard.

"You? As a princess? You? I mean seriously? _You_?"

Maya rolled her eyes, breaking off a piece of the other croissant and popping it in her mouth as Zay bellowed with laughter, laying down on the bleacher and clutching his stomach.

"I get it Zay. I'm not princess material. Can you please shut up now?"

"This is priceless! What would be your princess name again?"

"Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart…" Maya muttered, the name sounding so foreign to her tongue.

She would probably never get used to it for as long as she lived.

Zay cackled with laughter, nearly falling off the side of the bleachers. "It's worse than your dad's last name Clutterbucket! Ten times worse!"

"I hate you so much."

"Maya, you know we like you just the way you are, right?" Zay snickered, wiping away a tear on the corner of his eye as he sat up. "You don't need to become a Pop. You're fine the way you are."

"Yeah… I know."

Zay clearly thought her reference to being a princess was code for the top tier most popular girls at school. It wasn't at all what she meant, but Maya knew it was better for him to assume she was feeling insecure than to clarify what she really meant.

"You two are here early."

They both turned to where Missy trudged through the dew drops on the field, growling under her breath as her hot pink tights collected moisture near her ankles. She climbed up the bleachers slowly before plopping down next to Zay, a cross look on her face.

She jerked her chin towards Maya. "Your nose is red, Rudolph."

Maya rubbed her stiff nose to try to get some feeling back into it. "You're clearly in a bad mood. What happened to you?"

"The results of my IDC hearing came this morning."

"Everything alright?"

"I have Saturday detentions for a couple weeks and I have to buy a new skirt. But I got yelled at by Tricia for leaving the house yesterday with apparent split ends."

Zay snorted. "Sounds just like her."

"I can't stand that silicone human of a stepmonster. Not even chocolate can bring up my soured mood." Missy set the cup of hot chocolate in her hand next to Maya's leg. "Here, happy early birthday. Did you get your form signed?"

Maya took a long languid sip, relishing in the warmth from the sweet drink before responding. "…No."

That was the very least of her problems right now and quite frankly, she didn't care about Fairhaven's wrath at the current moment. Her life got twisted, turned upside down in one twenty minute conversation. And she still wasn't ready to acknowledge the craziness and fuckery that had been last night.

"Maya, you okay?" Missy's brows furrowed as she glanced at Zay. "You notice that look on her face, right?"

Zay nodded distractedly, watching near the track as the cheerleaders began their warm up stretches. "Yeah, like she's stressed or something. Or ate a bad breakfast. I think she wants to be one of the Princesses."

Missy's nose wrinkled like she was appalled. "Of the Pops?"

"I'm fine," Maya corrected quickly, though she knew it wouldn't be a very good excuse. "I don't want to _be_ a Princess necessarily. I just… thought about what it would be like if I was."

"Why would you ever think about wanting to be one of the Pops? That's like relinquishing your individuality all for the sake of being part of clique. It's basically selling your soul."

Maya sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them as she stared out at the horizon.

"I don't want to… nevermind."

There was no way she could fix their assumptions without making them messier. And she absolutely couldn't bring up her current dilemma.

Missy contemplated her skeptically for a few seconds, and Maya almost expected her to start asking questions. She clearly didn't buy what Maya had said to them, but thankfully she didn't press, tugging instead on Maya's shoelace to get her attention back.

"Hey, Johnny's pizza is having a half off pizza discount for JQA students until 6 PM," Missy said. "You guys want to go after school?"

"I have ballet today," Zay said, tilting his head sideways as the girls began to touch their toes. "Can we pick a different day?"

"Nope. It's for Maya's own good. She needs greasy food. Look at my scrub's sad face." She leaned forward and grasped Maya's chin, smushing her cheeks together. Maya swatted Missy's hand off her face. "Also wow Zay."

"C'mon, they're beautiful girls in short skirts wearing bloomers! It'd be criminal not to look."

"What you're doing _is_ borderline criminal, ya creep." Missy rolled her eyes, though she started watching with Zay. "…No matter how cute those skirts are."

Maya smiled, tuning out Zay and Missy's bickering and mentally thanking Missy's razor sharp intuition for understanding that Maya really didn't want to talk about what was plaguing her right now. The change in subject came at the most opportune time.

Getting some support from her friends would have been nice since she was having trouble reconciling who she was, but the more she stewed over it, the more she realised that exposing them to the secret would only add more turmoil to their lives. She didn't have a single thing figured out yet, and there were way too many questions to be answered before Maya could get anyone else involved.

Maybe once she got some answers, she would ask them.

~.~.~

"How'd Fairhaven react to you not turning in your signed paper?" Missy asked, smiling as the waiter set their pizza down between them.

"He didn't." Maya mused as she picked up one of the piping hot slices and tried to catch the dripping cheese in her mouth. "He made a face, I think? Well, I want to say he did, but his expression was blank as always. Though he did say he was going to call home for my transgressions."

Missy chuckled, shaking her head in amusement as she cut a piece of pizza with her knife and fork.

"Who the hell eats pizza with silverware?" Maya said in mock disgust. "Gosh, you're such a loser. Why do I hang out with you?"

"Says the girl who has cheese trailing down her chin and pizza sauce stuck between her teeth," she retorted snidely. Maya hurried to clean her face up. "I can't eat pizza with my hands. I'll get grease on my sweater. This is Versace, you know? Plus, I stole it from my mum's closet and if it's not in perfect condition, my ass is grass."

Maya snorted and they ate in silence for a bit, Maya responding to one of Zay's text by sneaking a picture of Missy mid bite with the fork. He thought it was hilarious.

"Are you worried about the call your mom will get?"

"No."

It wasn't exactly a lie. Maya decided not to speak to her mother and Katy knew how furious Maya was, so her wrath over Maya's mistakes wouldn't matter one bit in the long run. Something like cancelling out.

Missy's eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "Okay then, so what's this about you wanting to be a Princess?"

"I don't _want_ to be one of the Pops. It was just a hypothetical question I asked Zay, and he misunderstood everything. Just forget everything about it."

"I figured. Zay's a little clueless sometimes, but still. Something is wrong with you." She dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin, daintily wiping away some of the oil. "I recognise that face, Scrub. I've _lived_ that face all my life because Tricia is a psycho. You had a fight with your mum, didn't you?"

"Yeah… I just, I don't know how this one is going to end." Maya sighed and dropped the gooey slice back on her plate. "I'm actually mad at her. Really mad. She kept a pretty big secret from me."

Missy watched her patiently, but Maya kept her gaze on the table, staring at it unhappily. No matter how annoying it had been sometimes for her mother to be far too open (and disgusting) in her life with Maya, it sure as hell beat her lying to her. _That_ hurt.

"Maya, Katy is nuts sometimes and she's goofy, but she doesn't normally lie to you. She must have had her reasons for it. Maybe you should give her the benefit of the doubt," Missy replied softly.

"Did she give me the benefit of the doubt when she kept the secret from me? No. Why should I?"

"Fair enough. You're still pissed off. But your anger isn't going to last forever. That's the thing about screwball mums. They piss you off all the damn time, but in the end, you'll make up because you love them. And yours is reasonable. And at least she accepts you the way you are."

"Did you forget the part where she forced me to go to JQA because of who I was friends with?" Maya pointed out, just to be petulant.

Missy had too many good points, and Maya wasn't ready to let go of her anger at her mother's actions just yet.

"You were getting sucked into bad things because of those looney friends you made. I don't blame her." Missy shrugged, popping another cut piece into her mouth. "And it's still better than my stepmum. She still thinks me liking girls and guys is an experimental thing."

"Fine, you've got a point."

She nodded. "So make up with her. I know as much as she pisses you off sometimes, she probably is just looking out for her precious baby girl. The sooner you guys reconcile, the sooner you can talk about whatever is going on that has you looking so sad, and the sooner I get back my scrub. I can't make fun of you if you're in a bad mood, you know?"

Maya laughed a bit as she took another bite. "I don't deserve you."

"Nobody does," Missy said haughtily, her gaze falling to somewhere behind Maya's shoulder. "Whoa… Hot _damn_. That guy has a lot of guts to walk around New York dressed like that."

Maya glanced a little over her shoulder in interest. "Who? Where?"

"Tall guy behind you. He's picking up at the counter. Don't make it obvious."

Maya dropped her fork and leaned down to pick it up. As she slid her hand aimlessly across the floor, she glanced towards the To Go counter. It wasn't hard to find the guy Missy mentioned. Honestly, he was hard to miss. She couldn't really see what he looked like on account of being upside down, and she only caught his profile and a bit of the view of his chiselled jaw line as he left before she could get a good glimpse, but he was wearing a red plaid shirt, had a cowboy hat on his head and was wearing cowboy boots with his jeans. For a second, she thought that maybe it was some kind of prank because she sure as hell didn't know anyone in New York who could walk around looking like _that_. And by the looks of some of the other patrons staring at him, they probably were thinking the same thing.

Maya straightened up in her seat, setting her fork back on the table. "Damn. I missed his face."

"I couldn't really see it either," Missy replied. "But you saw how he was dressed though, right? Think he's a tourist?"

"Without a doubt. He is _so_ going to get mugged." Maya shook her head gravely, wiping away fake tears. "Poor guy. He only came out to New York to have a good time."

Missy started laughing, rolling her eyes at her antics, and for a second, Maya almost forgot about the stressful day she'd had.

~.~.~

The rest of the week passed by wrought with tension and anxiety.

It was like everything had changed after finding out who she supposedly was. And it threw off Maya's life big time. The only thing she could think about was the fact that she was a princess. She couldn't focus. She felt like she was being watched all the time and paranoid. She zoned out all the time. And every time she saw her friends, she wanted to tell them what she'd come to learn, but she could never muster up the courage so she came across as jumpy to them. She definitely didn't miss the way they would pass secret looks of concern to each other when they thought Maya wasn't looking. They didn't press or push anything, but she knew with each day that passed that she continued to behave this way, their suspicions and worries only grew.

She hated it. She just wanted things to go back to the way they had been before this mess of an issue began.

It had clearly been affecting her mother as well who had been giving Maya space by picking up extra shifts for later hours. As promised, Mr. Fairhaven had contacted her mother for Maya not turning in the signed failed paper, but despite that, Katy hadn't said a word to Maya or berated her for her poor performance yet. In fact, the only reason Maya knew her mother had received the call was because she'd slipped a typed note with her signature under Maya's door to turn in to Mr. Fairhaven excusing her lack of a signature and stating it was her fault for not being available for Maya. It was touching, however small a gesture, but that still didn't change the fact that Maya was angry at her—angry at the world, really.

(On the upside though, Mr. Fairhaven had been totally surprised… well, as surprised as a blank look could portray anyway).

Maya hadn't seen her mother all week. She'd gone to school early every day that week, and she spent so many long hours with her friends until the late evenings that she didn't see Katy until she was sure her mother was asleep.

Which was why Maya welcomed the weekend with open arms and sheer happiness that there was that small get-together at Zay's to meet Lucas. At least she could relax and enjoy some semblance of normalcy because she didn't know how much longer she could take this. She couldn't take knowing she was this important royal person who was supposed to run a country. Maya had never asked for this. She just wanted to be herself. And now she didn't even know who she was anymore.

After returning from work Saturday morning, Maya organized her closet as she searched for something clean to wear, using the rest of the afternoon until the party to settle her wayward thoughts and help herself get her emotions in check. Missy and Zay hadn't badgered her much throughout the week when she spaced out of conversations or when she spent most of her classes doodling on her paper instead of doing her work, but she could still see the worry in their expressions when they glanced at her and she kind of felt like they were tiptoeing around her. So she would have to make sure she appeared okay at the party.

As she approached Zay's apartment, she saw a rundown, battered, beat up red pickup truck with peeling paint parked on the side of the street. It was in pretty bad shape and she was sure that was duct tape holding the exhaust pipe to the back of the car. She'd heard about people keeping their cars for forever, but this was just ridiculous. It looked like it would fall apart with one solid kick.

She walked in the apartment with a yawn, setting her coat on the rack beside the door and slipping her shoes off her feet as Mrs. Babineaux preferred.

Zay's head popped out of the living room as he spotted her in the hallway. "You're late."

"Sorry, I was staring at the car outside. Whose piece of shit truck is that outside? One of your neighbours'?" Maya asked, heading over towards Zay. "I feel sorry for whoever is driving that scrap heap. I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing. They ought to cut their losses and buy a new one."

Maya laughed at her own joke as she rounded the corner into the room. Missy snickered, waving at Maya in greeting as Zay gave her a ' _really_?' look.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

The other guy she finally took note of standing in the living room—the other tall guy with the gorgeous green eyes—cocked a brow, looking peeved.

"That scrap heap was a gift I got from my Pappy Joe. Ever heard of keepsakes for sentimental value?"

So this was the elusive Lucas Friar himself.

He was actually really cute. Cuter than she'd expected. He had the whole tall, tanned, cowboy, country boy thing on lock.

"You'd be better off driving a tractor," Maya quipped before she could take back the words, only because she felt kind of embarrassed and when she got embarrassed either something totally sarcastic and bitchy usually came out of her mouth or something weird. Unfortunately, her mind decided to go with bitchy. "Looks like it's a rough speed bump away from falling to pieces. And a lawsuit."

"It lasted an entire trip from Austin to New York. I think I'm fine, but thanks for your concern," Lucas drawled sarcastically as his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Well, I would have liked for you two to meet under better circumstances than this, but before this gets out of hand… Maya, this is Lucas Friar." Zay gestured to them in turn. "Lucas, this is the Maya Hart I told you about."

Lucas rose a slight brow and gave Zay an incredulous look, like he was utterly surprised about something. What the hell had Zay said about her for Lucas to look that unconvinced?

Missy walked over to her, handing her a plastic cup with some soda in it which Maya downed quickly before she said anything else to infuriate the guy she hardly knew.

"Nice job making someone hate you right off the bat," Missy said in a hushed tone. "That's the guy we saw at Johnny's, you know? Your first thoughts on Mr. Cowboy?"

She should have known. The guy at the pizza place had been wearing plaid and that stupid cowboy hat after all. Her mind should have reached the conclusion that it had been Lucas. Who in New York wore anything like that anyway?

But now that she was getting an even better look at him, she could definitely see what Zay had meant by dashing. He had that country boy in every chick lit ever charm thing going for him. And his arms. Holy crap.

"Moving those bales of hay and pulling tractors around on that farm must have done him hella good…" Maya joked, not altogether as quietly as she had hoped.

And clearly not quietly enough because Zay glanced at her, bemused and looking like he was about to die laughing, and Lucas gave her a look somewhere stuck between vexation, incredulity, and something else she couldn't quite name.

(She was going to go with loathing because her foot had been in her mouth the whole time she'd been here, and she loathed herself right now too).

"Believe it or not," Lucas said, "there aren't just farms and dusty landscapes in Texas. I lived in the _city_. Because they do exist in Texas."

"Alright. If you want to consider endless tumbleweeds, cow pastures, and fields of wheat a 'city', no one is stopping you." Maya shot back, only to hide how flustered she was.

What was wrong with her today? Today was supposed to be the day she got her shit together, but she was all over the place, and she couldn't find a way to speak without antagonising Lucas.

Lucas' expression darkened, and he scoffed. "Are all your friends this _wonderful_ , Zay, or am I just lucky?"

Zay laughed. "She's probably acting this way because she thinks you're cute."

Maya punched Zay on the shoulder. "Stop that!"

Although his country accent _was_ arguably cute.

"Two days in New York, and I've gotten my car towed and nearly got mugged." Lucas looked completely done with life. "And then out of all the people in the entire city, I just had to be the guy who ends up meeting quite possibly the most cantankerous bi—"

She poked him in the chest threateningly. "Finish that sentence, Huckleberry. I dare you."

Lucas looked unfazed, staring down at her with barely concealed amusement. "You're a five foot tall short little stack of pancakes. What the hell are you going to do?"

Ouch.

Her face fell and she glowered at him, irritated from his jab at her height. It wasn't like she'd asked to be short.

"You really want to find out?"

Missy pulled her away from him by the back of her collar. "Ooookay. Settle down there, Scrub. Let's just calm down a little with the threats. This is supposed to be a _fun_ little get together. Let's just kick back and have a good time."

"Doesn't seem possible with a stiff like her," Lucas muttered darkly.

She rolled her eyes. "If anyone's the stiff, it's you. Can't take a joke, Sundance?"

"What part of making fun of the car that means the world to me was a joke?"

"Missy thought it was funny."

"Hey, leave me out of this." Missy took a nonchalant sip of her punch. "You want to scratch out his eyeballs, I don't want to be a part of that, Scrub."

Maya glared at her. " _Traitor_."

"Some friend you've got, Zay," Lucas snarked as he stared down at Maya in distaste. "A real piece of work."

What a jerk.

Yes, she was aware of her quarrelsome attitude as well, but something about him rubbed her the wrong way. It was like he was trying to take the high road and act mature when she knew he was probably just as troublesome and problematic as she was. Or maybe she just wanted to fight with someone since she couldn't really lash out at her mother since they weren't speaking.

"Why don't we watch a movie or something? Clear the… _awkward_ air." Zay scratched the back of his head and watched the two of them uneasily.

"Good idea." Missy pulled Maya towards the couch as Zay grabbed Lucas' sleeve to move him. "I'm sure we can all agree that watching a movie might be for the best."

Missy and Zay (smartly) sat Maya on the far edge of the couch and Lucas on the ottoman as far away from each other as possible while they waited for Zay to pick something from his collection of movies. Maya felt a little sulky, slumping back on the couch and deciding maybe it would be best if she just kept her mouth shut for the time being. This was supposed to have been a fun little thing to keep her mind off of her crazy life, but it was only serving to make her mood worse.

She felt like crap. And part of it was because she kind of felt like she was supposed to apologise to Lucas, but she wasn't sure how to. Maybe coming to the get-together hadn't been such a good idea when her life was all over the place. But she knew if she hadn't shown up, her friends would definitely suspect she was dealing with something intense and wouldn't stop bugging her.

"So, Lucas," Missy asked, making polite conversation, ever the perfect catalyst for breaking awkward ice. You could take the girl out of the socialite group, but you couldn't take the socialite out of the girl. "Why did you come to New York?"

"My parents are getting a divorce, and my mom decided to leave to New York," he explained. "So I came with her."

"Oh yeah? What made you move to New York after spending so much of your life in Texas? You love it there, don't you? Plus half the semester is already gone."

"My mom among other reasons. I could never leave her, though the reason I'm moving now is because she didn't tell me about her plans to move after the divorce until recently. I don't know why she kept it from me for so long. She could have just told me about her plans from the start." He shrugged. "After she revealed it all to me, I chose to move with her. And here I am. Starting school in October sucks, but I'll figure it out."

Maya frowned, sitting up a bit straighter in surprise by what he'd said about his mother. It'd struck a chord. And suddenly Maya got it.

"You're a real Mama's boy, huh?" Missy smirked behind the rim of her cup.

"Yeah," he said, the back of his neck flushing a bit in embarrassment. "She uh… she's done a lot for me and she puts up with my shit so…"

"She didn't tell you because she was scared…" Maya muttered under her breath absentmindedly. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion from her sudden comment. "She thought you would resent her or reject her completely for keeping the secret. And she couldn't lose her relationship with her only child when that was all she had left."

"What?" Lucas' brows furrowed. "That's a little dramatic, but I uh… I guess?"

"Maya… you're doing that thing where you're being _weird_ ," Missy whispered loudly, nudging her with her elbow.

But Maya understood now.

Strange as it was, she understood exactly why Katy hadn't told her about Valderia, about being a princess, about the throne, about her father, about any of it. This whole time Maya had assumed Katy was being selfish when that hadn't been the case at all. The farthest thing in fact.

Maya shot up from the couch, her heart racing in her chest from knowing she had to go home. The other three stared at Maya expectantly, giving her weird looks and wondering why she'd suddenly gotten up.

"Maya?" Zay asked as he popped the DVD in the disc drive. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go home."

She didn't wait for any responses as she set her cup of punch down and rushed to the front door. She quickly slipped on her boots and coat before making her way out of Zay's apartment.

She had to talk to her mom.

~.~.~

As Maya walked down the sidewalk of her street, she only hoped her mother would be at home. Most Saturdays she had off from work which meant she would usually be at home cleaning up around the place or napping to replenish her energy. Maya hadn't told her about Zay's little get-together, so she figured her mother would be a little worried and would make sure she was home so she could pinpoint the exact moment Maya returned safely.

Her phone buzzed with a text and she checked it; it was from Zay.

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **everything alright, maya? missy and i are really worried.**

She responded quickly.

 _yeah, i just have to talk to my mom about something. it's all good._

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **okay. good to know.**

Even though Maya was honestly glad that Katy was trying to protect their relationship, she just didn't get why Katy would let her continue to be mad at her. This was just like when she was younger and Katy let Maya think she was the one who'd ruined the relationship when it had always been Kermit. Maya wondered if maybe that was their Hart curse, their dual self-destructive tendencies. It made her heart hurt to think about how long her mother had been holding on to this secret and how long the fear must have been consuming her.

 _sorry about ruining your party. i'm sure lucas is glad i'm gone._

As Maya hurried up the stairs of their complex, she got another text from Zay.

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **you did leave quite an impression with your whirlwind entrance and whirlwind exit.**

She snorted; it was a Dungworth habit apparently. Lucas probably thought she was absolutely positively nuts.

 _good or bad?_

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **bad, maya. very bad. there's not a word in the dictionary to describe how bad of a first impression you made.**

He replied again after a few moments.

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **but i think he thought you were cute. until you opened your mouth.**

That was the least of her worries. She was on a mission to reunite with her mother. And on top of that, she had much better things to think about regarding her future and the way her life would shape up to be than worry about gorgeous cowboys from Texas who made her say stupid things.

Zay texted her back shortly after.

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **he called you a hybrid between one of those snapping turtles and a chihuahua.**

She scoffed, narrowing her eyes.

 _that's still better than being some cowboy cliché. at least i didn't get mugged on my first day in nyc._

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **from lucas: shut up!**

Maya's brows furrowed. If this guy wanted to fight, challenge accepted. He'd insulted her first, no way was she going to back down after he'd called her that.

 _oooooh. what a great burn… not._

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **look, how about i just give him your number so you two can continue flirting on your own phones?**

 _don't give him my number! and we're not flirting!_

Maya reached her landing, walking down the hall and anticipating some annoying text message. She was trying to focus on preparing herself for the conversation she needed to have with her mother. This was a distraction she didn't need right now.

 **From: Unknown**

 **For the record, I did not say "shut up!" like some brat kid throwing a hissy fit.**

She saved Lucas' number in her phone as Huckleberry even though she didn't really think she'd ever spend time using it.

 _funny. i imagined that exact image. suits you._

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **What's your problem? Do you just go around not liking people you meet the very first time?**

 _gee what gave it away?_

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Wow seriously?**

But she did feel bad. He was new to New York, didn't know anybody here and one of the first people he met was some girl who was giving him grief for no reason. Maya couldn't relate with moving to a new city, but she knew damn well how hard it was being in a new environment with people one didn't know and having to make all new friends. She'd been in a weird mood all week. Maybe that had been the main reason why she'd gotten so testy with Lucas in the first place. But in any case, he didn't deserve it.

 _you were just a mild annoyance._

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Because that's so much better. What the heck did I do to you? Exist?**

 _i was dealing with something personal and took it out on you. i'm sorry._

He didn't respond for several seconds.

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Zay was right. You are strange.**

Maya stopped in front of her apartment door, staring at the chipping paint in trepidation. Why was it always so easy to get in fights with other people but so hard to apologise? She knew her mom was forgiving and gave her the benefit of the doubt more often than not, but she'd been pretty rude to her.

She walked in the apartment with her breath held. Maya left the foyer, heading over to the living room to find her mom. Katy was standing next to the kitchen sink, muttering under her breath as she tried to scrape off some burned residue from one of the skillets.

It was now or never.

"Hey Mom?" Maya said, bunching up the bottom of her sweater. Katy looked up from the sink in surprise to see Maya. "Can we talk?"

She set down the pan into the sink, wiping her hands on a dish towel nearby and nodded, looking so relieved.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I don't know. Maybe? But I get why you kept this secret from me." Maya sank down on the love seat, feeling exhausted for some reason. "You were worried because you thought I was going to leave you, didn't you? That's why you never wanted to tell me about Valderia. Because you thought I would want to leave the life we had for a life where I could enjoy the things I'd never been able to have. You wanted to keep me in your world with you."

Katy's walked around the kitchen island to the couch and plopped down next to Maya. Her face was twisted in guilt.

"Can you blame me? I know it was selfish of me to make that choice for you, but between a life of poverty and a life of riches, I know if I were a young girl, I'd have chosen the other life," she said apologetically. "Maya, I'm sorry. For everything. Especially this past week. I never meant to hurt you. I just…"

"You were scared."

Katy nodded. "When I was pregnant with you, Valderian officials wanted to bring Kermit back. He asked for five years, but didn't tell them about me or the fact that I was going to have you. When you were five, Kermit was contacted again to return to Valderia. He refused again and split, but they found out about me and you and basically told me that since you were a child bred through a legitimate marriage, you had a legal right to the Valderian throne. They all but told me that you would be taken by the government when you were of age to do your duty. I've been dreading that day since you were five, and my biggest fears came true this week. I felt helpless."

"Did he leave to protect me? Or was he just being a coward?"

"I've never been able to figure that one out. But all the crazy mess in our life was one of the reasons why our relationship ended so poorly. I couldn't forgive him for hiding his secret from me. For not telling me when I met him about what I was walking into in a relationship with him. And then for deserting us when his past caught up to him. I thought my child would get taken from me. It's a terrifying feeling." Katy stared at her nervous, wringing hands on her lap. "You were all I had, Maya. My precious baby girl, and I know you've been living like a pauper when you could have been living like a queen, and I'm terrible for keeping that from you, but I didn't want to lose my daughter. I thought our time together was measured. When you came of age, I knew it was only a matter of time before they would come to take back Valderia's rightful and future queen."

Maya didn't know why she started tearing up, but for some reason, seeing her mother looking so desperate and distraught made her stomach twist in knots and her throat tighten dangerously. She took her mother's hands, clasping them in hers and squeezing them gently.

"Mom, why didn't you believe that I would stay with you? You're my mom. You've been there for me since day one."

"I haven't exactly been the greatest mother. I could barely give you a carefree childhood. I was constantly working and leaving you to fend for yourself when you were younger. You couldn't have anything you wanted. And most recently, I forced you to change schools."

"It was for my own good. No matter how much I complain about it, I know that. But you should have trusted me."

"Love has a way of clouding common sense. I was scared to take that chance." Katy reached up and stroked Maya's cheek with a wry smile. "Whatever you decide for your future, Maya, it's your choice. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but I want you to make your decision with _all_ the information and facts. No biased choices. And if you so happen to want Valderia, I will never hold it against you, and I will always understand. Hold on one second."

Katy rose from the couch and walked away down the hallway to their storage closet close to the bathroom. Maya could hear Katy rummaging through some of the things in there. About a minute later, she emerged with a single envelope.

"I was supposed to show you this years ago," Katy said in shame as she sat back down next to Maya and placed the letter in her hand, "and now I think it's time you had what was rightfully yours."

Maya stared at the unopened letter. It was addressed to her in some fancy cursive that looked like it was written by one of those extremely expensive calligraphy pens. The envelope was sealed up by a wax stamp, something fancy and official looking. It was in the shape of a big V.

"What is this? Some kind of royal decree announcing my inheritance?"

"It's a letter your father sent me three years ago. This was a little after he came to meet you in junior high. He was planning on revealing your inheritance that afternoon, but you know how that day turned out. He wanted me to tell you to open it once I'd told you about your heritage," Katy explained. "But I never gave it to you because I didn't want to give you up to Valderia. I know, selfish, but I'm making things right."

Maya swallowed thickly, feeling like the paper in her hand held more weight than she could ever imagine. It wasn't just the fact that this undoubtedly had to do with her future as a possible monarch. This would also be the first contact she would have with her father since she was twelve and she told him she'd rather they lived unassociated, separate lives with no contact.

Katy patted Maya's leg, gently drawing her attention back to her. "How about you open this in privacy, okay, baby girl?"

"Okay."

"Maya, I'm really sorry again. I shouldn't have hidden such a big secret from you."

"It's okay, Mom." She smiled, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck in a warm embrace. "I know in your own screwball way, you were just trying to protect what little family we had."

"Thank you." Katy returned it, giving her a tight squeeze. "Hey, let's eat out at your favourite dim sum place sometime next week. My treat."

"I'd like that."

Katy let her go, cupping her cheeks and wiping away some tears Maya hadn't realised were tumbling down her face in the first place.

"You want some dinner?"

"Yeah." Maya nodded. "I didn't get a chance to eat anything and I'm kind of hungry."

"Alright, I'll whip something up real quick."

Katy stood to head back to the kitchen, and Maya went to her bedroom with the letter still feeling like it was burning into her palm. She slumped onto her bed, avoiding the skittering Ginger, and stared at the letter. Part of Maya intended to ignore it completely—she'd meant what she'd said to him about not forgiving him for deserting them like that—but she was curious as to what her father had to say. And above that, something told her she needed to read this to possibly get the clarification she needed for this situation.

Leaning back against her bedpost, she stuck her pinkie finger under the sealed flap of the envelope and slid it across until she'd gotten it open. Taking a deep breath, Maya pulled the contents out from inside, a folded up letter that was more yellowed than white now.

 _Hey Maya,_

 _If you're reading this letter, then that means it's time. Your sixteenth birthday is coming up and that means you've learned of your heritage and my mother has begun the process to turn you into a queen._

 _I'm sure you have a lot of questions you want answered right now. This is something I know I should address with you directly. I would have liked us to talk in person, but the last time we talked, you wanted me out of your life. And I respected your decision to limit any contact with each other until you were ready to talk to me again. All I can do is send this one letter in hopes to give you my explanation as well. My actions are not excusable, but I thought you would like to know the whole story for context._

 _Around the two year mark of my rule as king, I took a vacation to New York City. Call it intuition if you want, but something about the city was calling out to me. Like I would find my true destiny there. I was just a stupid twenty year old who had been ruling for a couple of years, but I could already feel smothered by life on the throne. I started to panic at the thought of being confined to the sort of life I had never asked for and needed to get away. I got permission from my mother and the council, and I left to spend a couple years in NYC._

 _While in the city, I met your mother and you know how that one went. We eventually were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. But the thing was, Maya, our little family was something I had to hide no matter what. When I left for New York, I was engaged to be married. Or rather, betrothed to the eldest daughter of a family of nobles. The Rizzo. (You'll hear about them a lot). It was strictly a political marriage in order to gain favour with that family since they had always been enemies of the Dungworths. It's said that in the 1400s, the head of the Rizzo house was the biggest contender with the head of the Villavicci house for first monarch of Valderia. The Villaviccis clearly won out and ever since then, we've had issues with that family. They're our nemesis, if you want to put it in more colloquial terms. My mother wanted to force me into a marriage to try to mend the broken bridge. And that was part of the reason I also wanted to take a break from being the king._

 _I wanted to marry for love, Maya. And your mother, there was just something special about her. Her energy, her smile, her light. She lived her life recklessly without any boundaries or cares about the norms of societies. I may have been young and naïve, but I know it was love at first sight for me._

 _When Katy was still pregnant, some Valderian officials came to our place to tell me it was time to return. See, I had been gone about two years. Thankfully, Katy wasn't home at the time so they didn't know about her, and I somehow managed to convince my mother to rule in my stead until I came back in five years. I made a promise to her that when I came back and got my life together, I would immediately marry Elena Rizzo. As you grew, I started to get tangled in the web of lies I'd created for years. I knew it wouldn't be long before my mother found out about my marriage and my child; I couldn't realistically stay in a totally different country for several more years, so I warned Katy. I finally revealed who I was, why I came to New York, everything. You were almost five then, and that's when I started to spend long periods of time away from home._

 _I know to you and your mother it must have seemed like I was ditching you, and in some ways I did, but I did it for two reasons. One: if I kept moving, it would make it harder for Valderia to track me, and by extension, you and Katy. And two: I was trying to find us a new place to live, away from the prying eyes of the Valderian secret service. I had a feeling they were keeping tabs on me, and it would only be a matter of time before they found out about you and Katy. When I started to disappear for weeks at a time, I was trying to distance my relationship with you and Katy so Valderia would leave you alone. Believe me, I had no idea it would backfire and that they would bypass me entirely to declare you an heir._

 _But all the secrecy and the craziness and the issues of the lies gradually made our marriage crumble. Katy hadn't asked to live life like a dirty little secret as if her marriage was illegitimate. She was pissed that I deceived her, and she was rightfully so. I intentionally lied to her about who I was because I wanted to be with her. But my intentions were never malicious. I just loved her so much, and I was terrified that she wouldn't want anything to do with me if she knew what kind of life awaited her if she stayed with me._

 _We ended up divorcing a year later upon her request, and I decided to move across the country so Valderia wouldn't know about the life I'd had. But Valderia somehow found out about you anyway—personally, I believe the Rizzo must have sent some spy to dig up dirt—and once they realised they had a new heir to the throne, a huge scandal broke out in Valderia. In announcing there was an heir to the throne, they managed to quell rumours of me deserting the throne, but in the process, the whole thing had caused so much turmoil in Valderia about what I had done. My mother publically disowned me for wrecking any possible hopes of reconciliation with the Rizzo as well as for dishonouring our family name by marrying and impregnating a commoner. She said there was no need for the country to have a deserting king. Or for her to have such a dishonourable son. And so, just like that, I left behind the name of Kermit Dungworth for good._

 _I know it sounds like some farfetched story from a storybook, but it's very true. These are the kind of ridiculous stories you come across in any monarchy._

 _Maya, the Valderian people need a strong ruler to guide them and support them. And though I have not had the chance to watch you grow, I know you are a very strong, brilliant girl who could make an even better ruler than I could ever have been._

 _I send this to you, not as a means to convince you to be the queen to make up for my many, many mistakes and transgressions, but to let you know that you do have a choice Maya. You are not required to accept the throne. If you don't accept it, don't feel guilty either. It is fully and completely your choice, but above that you will never be held accountable or judged for wanting to lead a normal life. And especially not by me. But you need to know that from what I know of you, you have already shown enormous signs of incredible aptitude in ruling a nation._

 _You don't have to accept your position as heir for the throne until the Independence Day Ball in May after your sixteenth birthday. My advice, if I may be so bold, is to at least try it out until then. You have months ahead of you at no cost. After that, if you absolutely refuse and want to run for the hills, just contact me immediately, and I can figure out what to do with my mother. I know she considers me an absolute abomination, and I probably have no influence with her, but I promise I can get her off your case. It's the least I could do as your mush for brains father._

 _Maya, I don't regret leaving the throne or dropping my inheritance. I never wanted to be in any position of power once I met Katy, but I do regret the way things happened with Katy and that you had to grow up without your father around because I was selfish. I hope one day you can forgive me. And I hope that one day, our relationship can mend. Oh, but don't tell Katy about anything I revealed to you in this letter. I'd rather live out the rest of my days feeling pain in my heart knowing that she hates me. It's what I deserve after what I put her through._

 _If you ever need my help or need some more support in this whole princess thing, I will be ready and willing to do anything for you._

 _Love,_

 _Kermit C._

Maya folded up the letter slowly, her mind reeling a bit from all the information that she'd just read. There certainly were always two sides to every story. Her father's reasoning still didn't make his desertion any better—in fact, it was a little worse now—but at least everything he'd done was because he was thinking of her wellbeing and her life with her mother.

But what she did know was that her father's letter had helped her figure a few things out about this situation. If it was absolutely true that she could give it a try but that she didn't have to accept the monarchy position yet, then Maya had no qualms giving it a shot. Just to see what it was like.

She had until May anyway, but she wouldn't know what to expect unless she made some sort of half concerted effort.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

~.~.~

Was what she had originally assumed.

But by the time she'd gotten her mother to contact the embassy and they had scheduled their first meeting, Maya was beyond nervous and had regressed back to her state of fear and nausea prior to agreeing to give the lessons a try. She'd been fidgety and nearly a wreck all evening, so much so that she'd barely been able to sleep.

It was a restless morning at work as well. She hadn't been able to even focus on Josh during his match, but once she'd finally finished her shift, she'd grabbed all her stuff and hightailed it out of the school grounds. The sooner that she got this out of the way, the sooner she could get her fears of the first day out of the way. Plus, April had made sure to let her know that punctuality was absolutely imperative and she would not tolerate Maya being late. Maya had changed out of her uniform into something loose and comfortable in the restroom of the subway station. She figured if she had to go to some historic, super expensive mansion in an area in which she was totally unfamiliar, then she might as well be as comfortable as possible.

The subway she took led out to an area she knew housed senators and government officials and other super expensive mansions. Maya knew a couple of her schoolmates lived in this area, and it was a well-known fact that pretty much every student who went to JQA's rival, Einstein Academy, lived somewhere here. She felt awkward walking down the sidewalks, feeling like she was being judged or watched by some cameras that had to be surrounding every gated home. At least the chances of someone recognising her were lower, but it didn't change the fact that she felt totally out of her element and way in over her head.

Why oh why hadn't she accepted her mother's offer to come with her to make the experience less nervewracking?

"Well… here's the house…" Maya muttered as she approached the closed gate of a rather grand, cream-coloured mansion resting at the end of a long driveway.

If not for the raised Valderian flag, Maya might not have assumed it would be an embassy building. She could already feel her nerves ratcheting up a notch as she approached the guard booth. If she had to walk this long a distance just to get to her lessons, she was seriously going to quit.

In the guard booth, surprisingly, was the Asian woman she remembered had been with April the day they'd first made their presence known. She left the booth as Maya walked up to it, tipping her baseball cap in greeting. Once again, she was dressed to a T in leather, finishing off her outfit in these outrageous high heeled boots that had Maya staring at this woman in awe.

"Hi, can I please have access to the mansion?" Maya asked. "I'm supposed to meet your boss."

"I beg your pardon?" The woman's lips curved up into a smirk. "That's how you greet someone of whom you've never made an acquaintance? Let's try this again. State your full name and your purpose for being here."

"What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?" Maya snarked, pushing her hair out of her face when the wind blew strands in front of her eyes. "Fine. I'm Maya Hart, and I'm here for a lesson with April."

"No greeting, no manners, addressing the queen informally by her first name when you do not have the clearance to do so," she tsked. "What a terrible start."

"I'm sorry…?" Maya felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. She was totally making fun of Maya.

"You would do well to work on that. Her Highness is not fond of mediocrity and impolite greetings," she said. "Anyway, the name is Harper Burgess, and I know how to kill a man with my thumbs fourteen different ways. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm the head of security for the Valderian royal family."

"Okay…" Was she supposed to be intimidated by that? Because she hella was. "Do I follow you or something?"

Harper nodded, pushing a button in the remote control thing she had in her hand. The iron gates opened slowly with a groan and creak and without so much as a cock of her head, Harper began to walk through, heading down the driveway towards the mansion. Maya followed her quickly, having to take a lot more steps than usual to match her brisk pace.

The driveway was created out of cobblestone, the scenery and yard lined with rose bushes carved into figures as well of marble statues that Maya supposed were important people in the history of Valderia. Just as she thought that, she caught sight of a short woman with bangs and long straight hair that she knew was May. Nearby the statue was another one of a woman who Maya supposed was April.

"Where's my father's statue?" she asked absentmindedly, not really expecting a response.

"He was stripped of his title as heir and disowned by his mother. His statue has been removed," Harper stated, continuing her brisk pace towards the house.

Maya fell silent, looking away from the monarchs and towards the house that was growing in sheer size every second they got closer. Its magnificence was without peer. Seeing it from afar barely did justice to how incredible the craftsmanship of the building truly was. It loomed over them majestically, almost powerful in some strange way that made Maya even more nervous than before.

The inside was even more intense with gorgeous, sparkling chandeliers illuminating the halls and perfectly polished floors and furniture that Maya could see her reflection in. And what she saw was a girl who was _way_ out of her element. It was like she was suddenly whisked into this new world with so many priceless vases and paintings and other expensive artefacts that Maya was sure belonged in a museum.

Maya stared up in awe at the huge portraits of the monarchs hanging up along the corridor, dating back to even before the Renaissance. Every ruler looking majestic and regal, oozing confidence. She couldn't even imagine herself on that wall of monarchs, dressed in that puffy robe with all that fur and the giant crown and holding that royal staff. It just seemed like such a foreign concept to her.

"I would be careful not to touch anything if I were you, Maya," Harper warned her, bemused, as if she could read her mind. "I don't think you have the means to replace it should it get destroyed. There'll be plenty of time for a tour and ogling later, but for now, you have an appointment time we need to meet. I'm sure you know your grandmother appreciates punctuality."

Maya flinched unintentionally when Harper dropped the G word. It still sounded foreign to Maya's ears, and even if she was her blood relative, she sure as hell didn't feel like one to Maya. She didn't want to refer to her as such yet. She wasn't ready to especially since April had been completely unknown to Maya in existence and never made any efforts to get to know her throughout the past fifteen years of her life even though she _knew_ she had a granddaughter.

She focused on Harper's heels clicking evenly on the marble tiles as she guided her through corridor after corridor of the expansive embassy, taking her past offices and grand ballrooms with furniture that probably had existed since the Victorian ages. Maya felt so out of place here with all the sleek shine and glitter and extravagance.

They reached two, kind of ominous, large closed redwood oak doors of an office, the last barriers between her and her supposed new future. There would be no more ignoring her apparent heritage after this. Coming here was in some way acknowledging that she was a princess.

Harper gave her shoulder a soft squeeze as Maya stared at the giant lion head knocker. "You ready?"

She nodded, and Harper banged the knocker twice to announce their presence. "Your Highness, it's me. Maya is here as well."

"You may enter." April's crisp voice came from inside the office.

It gave Maya memories of Mr. Fairhaven, and this time she really did roll her eyes.

With one quick reassuring smile to Maya, Harper turned the knob and pushed the doors open to the swanky office. It was furnished to perfection with plush vintage lounging couches, long bookshelves stuffed with priceless novels and political books and documents, and an extravagant rug that just made Maya want to sink her body into it and curl up in a ball and take a nap. All in all, the whole thing only served to make Maya even more terrified and nervous of this ordeal.

Harper snapped Maya out of her reverie by giving her a soft nudge forward at her lower back, subtly telling her to close her mouth and approach the woman sitting behind the desk. Maya swallowed thickly, walking slowly over to the front of the desk. She wasn't sure what expression she wore on her face, but her face felt stiff and weird, and she wondered briefly if she was trying to smile.

"Ah. Maya. You have arrived on time. Punctuality. I like it." April greeted pleasantly, still not glancing up from her document.

"So I've been told," Maya responded, stopping partway through the room, but not quite approaching the desk the whole way.

"Well then, let's have formal introduct— _Good God_!" she suddenly squawked in mortification, her hand coming to her heart when she glanced up and saw Maya. "What on earth are you wearing? Your pants!"

Maya glanced down in confusion. "Jeans?"

"They're all ripped up and torn and falling apart! And your shirt shows part of your midriff!"

"Yeah, that's kind of the fashion here."

"When was the last time you _brushed_ your hair?!"

She didn't see why this was relevant to the whole situation. "…Uhhh…"

April frowned. "If it takes you that long to think about it, then it has been far _too_ long!"

Maya tugged on some of the tangled strands hesitantly, looking at April in offence. She knew her hair wasn't exactly the neatest, but it wasn't like she looked like a night troll. Maya did put some stock in her appearance. Zay told her she looked beautiful sometimes and never meant it in some ironic or sarcastic way so she figured he was telling the truth, so what exactly was April's problem?

"What's wrong with my hair? A lot of people think the style works on me."

"Absolutely not. A princess' hair must always be coiffed and properly combed, strands pinned down so as not to give the appearance of a vagabond!"

Maya's shoulders sagged in exhaustion. She hadn't even been here more than ten minutes and she already wanted to leave. She was really starting to regret coming here. Why hadn't she expected this?

"Stand up straight, young lady! Shoulders back, stomach in. _No_ slouching. Chest up. Chin down." April barked in rapid succession. Maya tried to fix herself quickly, feeling like she was trying to contort herself into some impossible angles.

"Humans are not meant to bend this way!"

"Maybe if you didn't have such bad posture in the first place, it wouldn't be a problem. You look like a common teenager."

"What's the big deal?" Maya grumbled, a bit irritated with her comment. "I _was_ a common teenager up until last week, in case you forgot."

"What's the big deal? What's the big deal?!" April pinched the bridge of her nose, setting her glasses on her desk and standing up from her chair to head over to her. "Maya, when you come to these lessons, I expect your decorum to be _proper_. Pressed skirts and blouses, your school uniform, or plain dresses are acceptable. You are in a government building; proper attire is a must. Is that clear?"

"Yeah," Maya grumbled under her breath, unable to contain her eye roll even if she had tried.

"You will respond with a clear 'yes, ma'am'," April said sharply, taking Maya's chin and lifting it up so she was looking her in the eye. There wasn't a dramatic difference in their heights, but compared to April in her heels, Maya was much shorter. "And _that_ is very unacceptable. No eye rolling. And respond to me with confidence and eye contact. A strong will is a must for a monarch."

Maya was off to _such_ a great start already…

"But at least I see tenacity in your gaze. I can work with that. But your skin needs to heal," April muttered, observing Maya's face so closely, Maya could see the slight bronze flecks in the shining blue of her eyes. "Your complexion is ruddy because you are not getting enough sleep. Eight hours is a must for a refreshed mind, body, and soul."

Maya swatted her hand off her chin and took a slight step back. "Eight hours is impossible if I don't want to fail out of school."

"If it takes you that long to finish your work and study then you are not managing your time well. If you cut down on entertainment, I am sure you can finish on time."

"I'm not some robot who can go without seeing her friends or having fun every once in a while," she bit back, annoyed by the comment. What was it with adults who always assumed that students who hung out with friends every once in a while were slackers?

"Then don't complain about your homework taking you well into the night if you are making no efforts to try to fix that."

Maya fought the urge to roll her eyes again with everything she had.

April picked up a few strands of Maya's hair in disgust, letting the messy waves fall back and shaking her head. "I don't even want to try fixing that spaghetti on your head. It feels like rubber; it's tangled. You do not know how to take care of your hair."

"I thought you said these were lessons to teach me how to be a good _ruler._ I wasn't aware insulting my looks was part of that package."

"Appearance is very much a part of being a good ruler. In fact, it is probably the very most important thing. You must look the part." April held out her palm. "That caustic sarcasm of yours has got to go. Hand."

Maya slowly put her hand on the outstretched palm and just as she suspected, April gasped in affront, looking appalled at her fingertips as she turned it to and fro. Maya mentally groaned.

"Grime and dirt and other mysterious substances under your fingernails! Paint on your skin! Chipped nail polish! Broken, jagged edges! This is an abomination! Do you not know how to take care of your body?! Is this the way you treat yourself?"

The whole time that April spoke, Harper snickered to herself, watching the spectacle while she sat on the edge of April's desk. Maya gave her the evil eye, but the damned woman just smirked, unaffected by Maya's ire and clearly having the time of her life.

"Look, my life hasn't had any time for fun and games or pampering. I work a job and I basically had to raise myself since my mom works long hours, okay? We didn't all get the chance to grow up easy enough to worry about things like that."

April sighed, letting go of Maya's hand. "I suppose that'll do for today then for your diagnostic assessment. C minus."

Her brow rose incredulously. " _A C minus_? Why? Because I don't look like some stereotypical princess?"

Maya felt sick to her stomach. It was like she'd gotten torn down to pieces and picked at and prodded and poked and treated like some object only to be raised back up and told she still wasn't good enough. This sucked major balls.

"Maya, my dear. There are _several_ things wrong with you besides your vagabond, delinquent-like appearance. If I were to elaborate on them all, it would take the afternoon away from us. Your attitude is less than appropriate, and I am utterly disgusted by the way you carry yourself with no dignity."

Her jaw nearly dropped in shock. How could April say something so callous so easily with a straight face? She'd basically insulted the crap out of Maya, and it was like she didn't even care.

Maya's eyes narrowed angrily as she slowly crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Wow. Got any more?"

"Yes actually. Your speech patterns need work, you grow incensed much too quickly, you give away all your turbulent emotions on your face, your glare is too severe and unjustified, not to mention your countenance and demeanour screams a lack of self-esteem to name a few. But fear not!" she proclaimed, clapping her hands together. "We will break you down and mold you into a proper princess that Valderia can be proud to call their own! We have a lot of work to do. Be prepared, Maya! It will be intense and a long journey, but once we are done, you will become a perfect Valderian queen."

"Great…" She just wanted to leave. She'd clearly wasted her time with this, and if every meeting was going to be this woman insulting her for everything she was, Maya wasn't sure she even wanted to be part of this. She knew her own faults, but this was just ridiculous and rude. "Are we done here, April, because I have some homework to go take care of."

Harper rose a brow at the same time that April's eye twitched in vexation. So maybe it was rude to call her by her first name, but Maya was still pissed about the way she'd treated her. She wanted to annoy the crap out of her too to get back at her for that period of absolute torture.

"Addressing the queen by her first name to her face? That's a bold move," Harper drawled. "You've got some guts, kiddo."

"I'm not sure I can tolerate that. Even if you are my granddaughter, Maya."

"Well what else am I supposed to call you?" Maya challenged hotly as she stared her down. "I sure as hell am not calling you grandma. I don't know a thing about you, and you've been absent from my life for nearly sixteen years. No offence, but I don't feel like you've earned that moniker."

There was silence in the room for several beats while April looked disdainfully upon Maya. Maya returned the look impassively.

"…Fair enough," April finally responded primly, turning on her heel and walking back to her desk without so much as another glance in Maya's direction. "I will see you tomorrow at exactly three thirty. Dismissed. Harper, if you will show her out."

Maya turned around too, storming out of the room with Harper beside her, her hands wedged in her pockets as she watched Maya in amusement. No way was Maya coming back to this hell. She already knew how much of a screw-up she was. She didn't need to keep hearing it from some stranger who she'd recently met.

Harper guided her back through the mansion to the front doors. "There's a driver at the front of the fountain to take you back home. Do you need to be escorted outside?"

"I think I'm good, thanks," Maya muttered, making her way to the door.

She was just ready to forget that this stupid day had ever happened and put all this mess behind her. This was not for her. Before she could open the door though, Harper gently took her elbow, stopping her from leaving.

"Maya, I know today was not what you were expecting."

"Ya think?" she snarked. "I should have never come here in the first place. This was quite possibly the worst experience in my life, and I was arrested once!"

"Don't get discouraged." Harper smiled faintly. "April is just a little too excited."

"Excited about what? Having a human doll to abuse and tear to shreds?"

"Having a strong granddaughter who has the ferocity and intelligence and gumption and potential to truly be a phenomenal monarch. It may not have seemed like it in there, Maya, but she's quite pleased at all of the great qualities you could have as a ruler, you know, minus some of your hygienic habits. Or lack thereof."

Maya blinked up at her, her glare faltering at the words. They seemed totally genuine, even if Maya didn't really believe it. April had gotten those impressions in less than an hour of a meeting?

"She has a knack for seeing the potential in people, you know?" Harper concluded, letting go of Maya's arm.

"Did she see the potential in you?"

"I tried to steal a priceless set of earrings from the royal vault when I was a teen. That kind of offence is serving time in the dungeons. Instead, she made me a bodyguard for your father. Now I'm the head of security for the royal family."

Maya stared down at her fingernails, picking a bit at the polish.

"She sees something in you that you could see in yourself too if you only gave this a real try."

"I did try."

Harper snorted, the jarring sound making Maya's nose wrinkle in disgust. "You showed up to your first meeting in clothes you would only wear hanging out with friends. You know there's a scraped off mustard stain on your pants, right? Where was the common sense in making that decision?"

"Fine, you have a point."

"Right. So maybe if you make a more concerted effort to meet her halfway, so will the queen."

Maya sighed. "I get how this works. She does the breaking down, and you do damage control, huh?"

"Guilty as charged." Harper laughed loudly, giving Maya a hearty slap on the back and nearly making her fly into the door. "Keep at it, Maya. I promise you you'll learn something in time."

"…Is she going to keep insulting me like that?"

"Yeah. As long as you keep giving her reasons to." Harper nudged her playfully. "So don't give her one."

"Easier said than done…"

"You'll do fine. We both believe in you." She opened the door for Maya. "Now get going home. You've got school early tomorrow."

Maya nodded, walking out into the cooling night air and wondering if she was honestly crazy for deciding to put herself through this torture. But above that, she wondered if she was even crazier for _wanting_ to come back. Maybe it was spurred from a desire to spite April, but Maya did feel much more determined than before.

She'd stick around for a little longer. At least until she made April eat her harsh words.

~.~.~

"How is it that they're already the IT couple and this is his first week?" Missy said, suddenly appearing beside Maya. "Five bucks says they're going to end up dating."

Maya frowned, pulling her head out of her locker and looking where Missy's gaze was directed. Unsurprisingly, Riley was beside Lucas, talking to him and batting her eyelashes ever so slightly in that adorable way that Maya knew guys flipped shits over.

She'd kind of expected Lucas would become pretty popular with some of the girls. Riley had the lucky spot of getting to know him first though. As student liaison for the student body, the cute brunette was his buddy for the week to show him around and get him "safely" to his classes.

(Which was frickin' ridiculous. The only danger to the students in this school were the chicken nuggets, which were made of racoon).

Maya was sure she would be seeing them walking around together all week: Riley with her perfect, cheerful smile and flowery cardigans and long, tame brown tresses and Lucas looking like the football player boyfriend in rom coms who carried books everywhere and was every bit the gentleman. Riley was the epitome of a princess. April would probably drool over her girly elegance.

"Not a bet," Maya responded, scoffing in slight annoyance. "That's a guarantee. Look at her blush. She is crushing on him so hard."

"She's giggling like Ed from The Lion King," Missy said, holding her hand in front of her as if speaking in a microphone. Then she changed her tone so it was like one of those announcers from a nature show. "The female is in heat and desires the male. She will fight off any other potential mates by any means necessary to capture her prey. See how she twirls a lock of her hair around her finger so that he will notice the slender, dainty digit and bright pink of her manicured nails? The attention to her appendages will entice the male in determining whether she is suitable for child rearing."

"The male is unaware, remaining blissfully oblivious to her advances and pheromones. The mating call of the female was unfortunately a failure," Maya continued in the same tone when Lucas waved goodbye at Riley and walked down an adjacent hallway. Missy started laughing. "Such is the way of the wild. Only time will tell if the female will double her efforts, attempting more aggressive methods to attract her decided mate. Join us next time in… Teenage Mating Rituals."

Riley sighed wistfully and turned to head in their direction for her next class just as Maya stopped talking.

"Shit!" Missy hissed, quickly pretending to text. "Act normal."

Missy and Maya bit their lower lips and stared down at their phones, trying to contain their snickers to appear like they hadn't just been watching Riley. As she passed by, Riley glanced at them briefly, giving them a small smile before continuing on her way, her fruity perfume nearly knocking the wind out of Maya. When they'd made sure that Riley was out of earshot, they both burst out laughing at their theatrics.

"Gosh, why are we so stupid?" Maya snorted.

"We should probably get to class before a teacher catches us loitering in the hallways."

Maya grabbed her next set of books and slammed her locker shut. As she backed up to slip them into her bag, someone accidentally bumped into her, making her let go of all the stuff in her hands. Before they could all tumble to the ground, the person raised their leg, catching all the books in a neat pile on the top of her foot.

"Better hurry to class, ladies. Some teachers don't take kindly to tardies."

Maya's gaze snapped up at the familiar voice. To her surprise, it was Harper, holding a briefcase and a mug of tea in her hand. If not for the knee high leather boots, Maya would have thought she was a completely different person in her flowy Bohemian dress.

"What are you doing here?" Maya questioned aloud as she bent down to get the books.

"You know her, Maya?" Missy asked in confusion, looking between the two of them.

Crap.

"She's uh… Well…"

"I'm an English teacher at your school. Senior literature. You must have me mistaken for someone else," Harper interjected smoothly. "However, your uniform skirt is too short. I'm awarding you a demerit."

Maya gave Harper a 'really?' glare. If she wanted to talk to her alone, she could have come up with any other excuse than giving her a demerit that she didn't deserve.

"Missy, go on ahead," Maya said. "I'll catch up in a second."

Missy gave her a sympathetic look but rushed off quickly, no doubt not wanting to catch some flack by one of the teachers walking by. She was still wearing her skirts as short as she wanted.

"You're not actually giving me a demerit, right?" Maya asked once Missy was out of range and had walked around the corner.

"Of course not, Maya," Harper grinned. "But seeing your reaction to that was definitely worth it."

Maya sighed. She could already tell Harper was going to make her life hell when she wanted to. "Have you always taught literature here?"

"Since last year, actually. I've been here just about as long as you have."

Had Maya just missed her this whole time? Then again, there were a lot of teachers Maya had seen in passing and hadn't registered. There was a pretty good chance she might have seen Harper before, but didn't really notice her.

And then Maya realised what Harper had said.

"As long as _I_ have?" Maya replied in shock. There was no way that was a coincidence. "Have you been spying on me since I came to this school?"

"Not spying. Protecting you."

"From what?" Maya lowered her voice, looking over her shoulder cautiously and suddenly feeling pretty nervous. "I'm not in danger, am I? Are there assassins after me or something?"

"No, Maya. You're safe. People know her Majesty has a granddaughter who is next in the line to rule. But they don't know what you look like. I'm here as a precaution."

"So what you're saying is that the minute I reveal myself, I will be in danger."

"There is that possibility since you're royalty. Which is precisely why you have a bodyguard watching out for you in school in the first place. There are two other Valderian servicewomen in this school who have also been keeping tabs on you. I myself had been appointed to watch you and keep you out of trouble after Kermit split."

"Keep me out of trouble? So where were you when I got arrested for almost graffiti-ing a wall?"

"I'm the one who called the police," Harper responded simply.

Maya's brows shot to her forehead. " _What_?! _You_ called them? Why would you do that? You got me in serious trouble with my mom!"

"I _stopped_ you from ruining your public image with misdemeanours before you got the chance to show that you could truly be a responsible leader. You were clearly falling down the wrong path, Maya, and I had to keep you in line somehow. It was the only way I could stop the situation and steer you back in the right direction without revealing myself and freaking you out. The idea for having you at JQA to keep tabs on your behaviour came shortly after."

The realisation disheartened her. Was her life all a joke to everyone? It was like they thought she was some puppet that they could pull apart and tug around and force to bend to their will however they wanted to their heart's content.

"I knew that damn scholarship was fake. I don't actually belong in this school, do I? How much did you have to pay or bribe to get me in here?"

Harper started laughing loudly, smacking Maya so hard on the back that she almost sprawled into the lockers. Again. Good God, that woman had a very strong arm.

"The scholarship was all you. You're very intelligent and street smart, Princess. I just happened to slip the brochure for JQA into your mailbox after your run in with the law. And you know the story from there."

Maya hated how she was meddling in her life. She was starting to wonder just how many of some of these situations in her life were influenced by Harper. Although in retrospect, maybe it wasn't so bad that Harper had forced her out of the lifestyle early on. Maya hadn't gotten any kind of markings on her record because she hadn't actually done any of the graffiti, but thanks to that, she'd been able to leave her old group fairly quickly.

"Be prepared to really learn today. Posture, poise, and proper etiquette are on the menu." Harper instructed her, taking a sip of her tea. "April moved it up in the curriculum because and I quote 'Maya was just a disaster yesterday'."

"Gee I'm sorry I'm a failure to all princesses out there," Maya sighed.

Harper chuckled. "Relax, Princess. You did alright for a first time. Meet me at the back after school. Now head to your class."

Harper swiftly turned and left clicking down the hallway to head to her lecture while Maya went in the opposite direction to get to her class. As she turned the corner, she almost ran into Missy who was waiting impatiently by the wall. Maya nearly jumped out of her skin, her heart racing when Missy stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Had she heard the conversation?

"Did you get a demerit?" she asked expectantly.

Maya could feel her entire body relax, and she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Yeah."

"Why are all the teachers here such hardasses? She looked pretty young; I thought she'd be chill." Missy gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You want to hang out at my place this afternoon? I don't feel like doing my homework so you should come distract me."

"Ummm… I can't. There's something going on… with my mom…" she lied, scrambling to come up with an excuse that would actually make sense.

She couldn't very well tell Missy she had to go to the Valderian embassy for her first official princess lesson.

Missy frowned in concern. "Is she okay?"

"Oh, yeah, totally. I'm just going to be at the diner with her to keep her company. You know my mom. Kind of goofy." Maya chuckled nervously, hoping Missy wouldn't read into her lie. She was pretty damn perceptive when she wanted to be.

She was saved from further interrogation when the late bell began to ring. Glancing at each other in slight horror, they rushed to get to their class, the conversation dropped and forgotten so they could avoid getting a demerit for being late.

~.~.~

After school, Maya managed to sneak away from Zay and Missy without serious hitch and neither of them offered to walk her to the door because of prior commitments, which was an enormous relief. She'd grabbed her books and quickly rushed out of the building, hurrying to the rendezvous point with Harper.

Maya approached her, glancing around to make sure there was no one watching her.

"You paranoid or something?" Harper questioned with a raised brow.

Absolutely.

"No."

"The more twitchy you act, the more you call attention to yourself. C'mon," she said, waving Maya to follow her as she headed down the front steps and away from the school. "I'll take you to the mansion, Princess. Your carriage awaits."

She sped up her pace to keep up with her. "Wait what? The last thing I need is people seeing me in a limo, Harper. And could please call me Maya? The princess stuff makes me uncomfortable."

Harper rose an amused brow. "Who said anything about a limo?"

As they rounded the corner, Maya froze as she gazed upon a shiny black Harley Davidson motorcycle that Harper approached. It was official: Harper oozed badass beauty and danger and she was definitely the coolest person Maya had ever met in her life.

"That's your ride?"

"My _baby_ ," she corrected, resting her hand on the seat lovingly. "Eighteen hundred cc twin cam, fat Bob fuel tank, wide glide. Go ahead. You can touch her."

"I'm scared I'll break her. This is seriously what we're taking to the embassy?"

Harper's answer was unlocking her seat's storage compartment and tossing Maya the spare helmet. Maya smiled, taking the helmet in awe. She'd been on one motorcycle once when Brandon's older brother had taken them to the graffiti spot where she'd first gotten caught, but never since then.

"Hop on and hold on tight."

Maya threw on the helmet and climbed on after Harper, who had started the engine and put on her own helmet.

She supposed this was one good payoff for having to come to these terrible lessons. There was nothing more fun than whizzing past cars on the street, her hair whipping behind her and the feel of the wind whipping around her. The air was kind of cold, but Maya paid it no heed, watching the sights in awe.

It didn't take long to get to the embassy, but traffic right after school was abysmal. Once they arrived—with only two minutes to spare—Harper ushered her quickly up the steps to go to April before she got scolded for breaking her number one punctuality rule. Unfortunately, it didn't give Maya any time to check her appearance beforehand, so when she burst into the office out of breath and trying not to keel over in agony, she didn't have to look at April to know that she was watching Maya with hawk eyes of utter disdain.

Great. She'd been hoping to make a better impression, but that clearly wasn't going to happen now. She'd screwed up two days in a row. It would probably take her months to change April's impression of her.

"Why do you always look so unkempt? Have you no pride as a beautiful young lady?" April huffed. "Make sure you comb your hair before our meetings, or I will turn you away."

Maya ran her hands through the tangled mess, trying to tame it a bit. "It's not like I did this to my hair on purpose."

Though Maya knew how terrible her hair looked. The top was completely flattened by the helmet she'd had to put on her head but the rest was a frizzy, wind disordered mess. That coupled with the fact that she hadn't really brushed to the ends that morning made that part of her hair look like a sheep.

"Regardless," she snapped, "your appearance is uncouth, and I expect you to improve or we will continue to have to educate you on the proper decorum of a princess for several more weeks. Am I clear?"

Why did she have such a pole up her ass?

"Yeah."

April rose a dangerous brow.

"Sorry. _Yes ma'am_."

"Good. Sit," April said, rising from her desk and gesturing to the lounge couches around the coffee table. Maya hesitantly took a seat, staring at the assortment of silverware and tableware. She could already tell this wasn't going to be a pleasant day. "This is your itinerary for your lessons. It's a very loaded schedule so make sure to add them to your planner so you know what to expect."

She handed Maya a small folder, and she opened it, staring at the sheet of paper with all that information and growing more and more nervous with each passing second.

It was ridiculous. Maya thought they were going to be simple lessons, but she'd been sorely mistaken. This was outrageous. History, Valderian culture and customs, poise, etiquette, dance, politics, diplomacy, international and national conflict and management, studies of languages, appearance. The plan went on and on and the more Maya read what was in store for her, the more anxious she grew at the prospect of all that she would have to learn and do.

"Make sure to take good notes. After each chapter, you will be given a test to discuss and organise what you have learned."

"Why do I have even more school on top of the school I already have?!"

"If I had more time, this could be more spaced out, but you need a lot of work that requires intense and active instruction until May."

"April, this is too much to pile onto my already busy schedule," Maya protested, skimming through the list again in disbelief.

"It's the best way to learn. Besides, learning how to juggle several different tasks and jobs and organise your time well is an important factor of being a leader," April countered. "Do you think when you're juggling trade with Italy or debating a new bill for education that you'll be able to take a break from either? No. It will happen all at once. Now. Let's begin with our first item for the day: poise, posture, and etiquette."

This sucked major ass.

~.~.~

" _This_ is the salad fork. _This_ is for meats, and _this_ one is for desserts!" April took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and trying to cool her irritation. "Why is this so hard for you to understand?"

Maya sighed, running a hand through her hair and wanting to stab her damn arm with a fork.

"Because where I'm from there's only _one_ fork! You act like it's such a big deal if I can't remember it."

"It is a very big deal! You do not want to go to a royal banquet and make a fool of yourself by using the wrong fork. They'll think you're uncultured."

Maya slumped back on the couch, groaning and stretching her legs out in exhaustion.

"Sit up straight and close your legs, Maya. You are a young lady and above that, a princess!" April said immediately.

Maya snapped up, at rapt attention and growing a little scared of the ferocity of this tiny queen. She could see why she'd been such a successful ruler. She had an iron fist.

"Let's try this again," she said through grit teeth. "If you receive _this_ small bowl of water, what do you do with it?"

"Uh…" Maya wracked her brain for the answer, but she couldn't remember it. All the information had basically been thrown in her face at once, giving her no time to really digest the information. Most of it had gone straight through one ear and right out of the other one. Some of the answers to these things were crazy or ridiculous though. Maybe this was one of those answers that sounded completely farfetched. "I think you—"

April stopped her by raising her hand. "Show me, don't tell me."

Swallowing thickly, Maya picked up the bowl and took a small sip from it half-jokingly.

"Mmm… refreshing?"

The back of April's neck burned red as her expression darkened furiously. Maya thought she looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

"In what world do you drink water from a bowl?!" she yelled.

~.~.~

"Oh my God. Yuck! What is this crap?!" Maya shouted, setting the mug down on the table and wiping her mouth roughly, trying to get that acrid taste out of her mouth.

"Pear tea. It's considered a delicacy," April responded calmly, though she looked like her patience was wearing thin.

"Delicacy my ass! This tastes _nasty_."

April sighed as she pinched the ridge of her nose. "It is an acquired taste, I suppose. Alright. Next, try this."

"What is it?" Maya asked, eyeing the lumpy green mushy concoction with great suspicion. "It looks like baby food."

"Pear soup."

"Hell no."

~.~.~

"A proper princess can carry herself with elegance and grace no matter how difficult her footwear. At the Independence Day festivals in Valderia you will be dressed in the medieval robes and shoes and you must prepare for the difficulty."

"These heels are like twenty inches high!" Maya exclaimed, holding on to the bookshelf for dear life as her legs wobbled unsteadily.

She'd worn heels maybe twice in her life. And both times had ended with her flattened on the ground.

"Two and a half. The sooner you can get used to walking in higher heels, the easier these poise lessons will be. We will increase the height as you grow more sturdy. Stand up straight. They help greatly with posture."

"Why heels? April, I'm going to die in these!"

"Stop being dramatic. You must wear them."

" _Why_?"

"Because you are short, and the crowds will not be able to see your head above any podiums."

Harper snorted at that, hiding part of her face with her hand, and Maya gave her a dirty look.

~.~.~

"Maya, eat the soup." April ground out, pushing the bowl towards her.

Maya pushed it back with a raised brow. "No way."

"Eat the damned soup, Maya!"

"It looks like vomit! And I'm pretty sure if I do eat this, it'll come right back up the way it came down!"

"You cannot judge the way a food looks by its cover. Just eat it for goodness sake!"

"I don't see you eating it!"

She turned her nose up haughtily. "I have already had my fair share of it over several, several years."

"See? You don't even want to try it because it's so utterly disgusting!"

"It is not! It is considered a—"

"Delicacy, right?" Maya rolled her eyes. "Delicacy this, delicacy that. Everything with pears is a supposed _delicacy_. Why pears of all things?"

"Because our country has a full, rich history with pears!"

"It's not half as full as you are…" Maya grumbled under her breath.

Harper chuckled to herself, and April shot her a withering glare.

~.~.~

"When the server brings your appetizer, what do you do?"

Maya gave her a weird look. Was this a trick question? "You eat?"

April threw up her hands in exasperation. "You wait until everyone else has been served, Maya! This is first grade stuff!"

" _No_ , first grade stuff is cursive and times tables and addition," Maya shot back. "And that is such a dumb custom! If there are one hundred people, do we all have to wait until everyone has been served? What if we're starving? That will take forever."

"I actually agree with that." Harper piped up from where she was brazenly reading her erotic novel. "For us servants of the palace, it sucks having to wait too. We can't get food until the main guests are served so our wait is even longer."

"Don't enable her, Harper. And stop reading your trashy smut in my office! You left a book on my desk, and Cassandra thought it was mine!" April turned back to Maya. "We have many servers to make the process quicker, so your concerns are unfounded."

"Is that Fatal Attraction?" Maya asked Harper, recognising the two nearly naked men embracing on the cover. "My mom has every book in the series that has come out so far. She's obsessed with Rodger and Leland."

" _Those_ two?" Harper's nose wrinkled as she set her book on her lap. "They're the worst together! It's Rodger and that sexy Egyptian hunk of a prince Karim or bust."

"I need an aspirin…" April grumbled, standing up and walking away.

~.~.~

"Why are you so combative over _everything_ , Maya?"

"Because you're nuts, April! I'm not putting on those ten inch heels ever again!"

"They were two and a half! So you took a tumble—"

"Because you put an encyclopaedia on my head! Look at that thing! It's the frickin' size of Valderia!"

Harper checked her watch. "It's almost seven. Perhaps it's time for the lesson to end for the day, your Highness? It's getting late and you clearly won't make any more progress today."

April nodded, looking a bit frazzled and exhausted herself. Some of the hairs in her perfectly coiffed bun were out of place and falling on her forehead.

"Very well. We will resume tomorrow."

"Great…" Maya pulled on her Oxfords, for the first time ever, glad that she had them to wear.

"We didn't get to everything on the curriculum for today, but that's alright. I want you to study up on Valderian history and prepare for a quiz tomorrow on some of our common customs. Don't forget to make sure your hair is properly fixed and attire is appropriate."

"Do you need to be walked to the door?" Harper asked her, patting her shoulder softly.

Maya sighed. "I think I know the way now."

If this was what was in store for her until May, she would definitely have to start taking anti-anxiety meds to keep up with all the orders being barked at her all the damn time.

"Have a good night, Maya," Harper said. "And good job today."

"Thanks." Maya could barely muster up a smile as left the office. "Goodnight."

By the time Maya finally got into the backseat of the car of the driver taking her home, she was too exhausted to even care that it was a limo driving her to her apartment.

~.~.~

"Mom, I'm home…" Maya called out as she dragged her feet through their apartment, limping the slightest bit. Her entire body felt like it was weighing her down. She was heavy, her limbs dragging despite the efforts she was desperately making in order to lift them.

As soon as she got into her room, Maya plopped face first onto her bed, groaning in the pillow when her sore ankles knocked against each other. She could hear her phone pinging her with some texts, but Maya ignored them in favour of relaxing a little bit. She was definitely not in any state of mind to be engaging in conversation with her friends right now when her mind was sluggish and she barely had the energy to move her fingers. Katy entered her room shortly afterward, knocking lightly on the door with her knuckles.

"You doing okay, baby girl?"

"Mom, that lesson drained my life force," Maya whined, fake sobbing. "Table etiquette is so hard."

Katy chuckled, sitting down beside Maya and soothingly rubbing her back. "Ah yes. I had trouble learning it too."

Maya glanced over her shoulder in surprise. "You had to learn poise and etiquette?"

"I was in a cotillion club when I was younger. There were a lot of etiquette things we had to learn that you're probably learning now. I would be happy to show you some tricks to help you remember everything."

"Can you? April needs a Xanax. And she made me eat _pearsoup_ today. It tasted like ass, Mom."

Katy laughed. "That sounds really gross."

"And there was the nasty pear tea stuff too. She's making me try pear pudding tomorrow. It has actual pear chunks in it. I really don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Well there has to be some silver lining? Did you learn anything interesting?"

"How to fall and nearly break your neck in heels because your teacher decided to put an encyclopaedia on your head."

"Maya, it couldn't have been _all_ bad. Otherwise you would never want to return."

"I guess the history lesson was kind of interesting actually. Did you know that the Valderian royal protection service only allows women to become the royal guards to protect the monarchs?"

"I didn't. Why is that?"

"During the feudal system and all the warring states in the late 15th century, all the men were away fighting in the war, but there was no one left to protect the monarchs, so they ended up with women as knights. And the tradition was established by Prince Carmine in 1493. He was assassinated at the end of a small war between lords with northern Italy, but his younger sister, Vermilion, continued to carry out this tradition in his memory and then it just stuck."

"Carmine and Vermilion?" Katy smiled, taking Maya's coat and carefully sliding it off of her arms. "Naming is certainly interesting there…"

"Tell me about it. Valderia is so weird. Why are pears the national food? Apparently if I ascend the throne, I have to eat a bowl of it after kissing the constitution of the country. That's enough to make me not want to ascend the throne. What kind of nasty delicacy is that? They must all be high."

"Maya." Katy nudged her, scolding her gently. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun though."

Maya rose a brow. "What part of I was forced to eat something disgusting sounds fun to you?"

Katy chuckled. "You're just very expressive. Kind of lively."

"It wasn't fun. She's such a hard ass, Mom. Literally can't loosen up and if I mess up, she goes ballistic." Maya's head dropped back down into her pillow, her words muffled into the fabric. "Can't I catch one break? I've never done this before."

"I suppose she must be desperate. From what I've heard, Valderia has been dealing with a lot of dissent from some prominent families, especially in recent years due to no heir being proclaimed. The stability of the country has waned a bit due to that." Katy shook her head as she stood to put Maya's coat on the back of her desk chair. "And of course that wasn't helped by Kermit's desertion."

Maya sighed. "I still think she should go a little easier on me. I wonder if she's taking out her frustrations on me because I'm Kermit's daughter…"

"I've met April multiple times, Maya. She's not that kind of woman. And she was elated to find out you were born, regardless of her fury with her son. Think about it this way, baby girl. She's hard on you because she knows you can handle it. It means she knows you're strong. That counts for something, right?"

"I guess?" Maya yawned, snuggling further into her plush bed, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Oh yeah. Also, my bodyguard, Harper? She thinks Rodger is better off with Karim."

Katy scoffed in disgust. "Another person who likes that dumb ship? She clearly doesn't understand the beauty of Leland Choi's quiet charms as his supportive best friend from his childhood. Karim is way too rowdy for him, plus he's too selfish keeping Rodger like some kind of side piece while he's betrothed to Ahura. I mean just because he has rippling muscles and a fairly large—"

"How about I tell Harper and maybe _you guys_ can discuss it, yeah?" She sure as hell didn't want to know the rest of that sentence.

Katy chuckled, tucking a strand of Maya's hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek gently. "I have an overnight shift at Nighthawk tonight, so I'll be leaving soon. You want something to eat?"

"Mmhmm… No pears please…" Maya mumbled, closing her eyes.

She felt her comforter settle on top of her, building a cocoon of toasty warmth around her, and Maya started falling into a comfortable sleep.

"I'll see you tomorrow, baby girl."

~.~.~

"Run faster, Hart!" Coach Strummer barked from the centre of the field. Maya's cheeks burned red from being called out yet again. "The slower the time, the lower your grade! Peter Gage! Stop talking to girls and pick up the pace!"

"Fuck off…" Maya muttered under her breath, annoyed that their gym teacher had no qualms embarrassing her students.

For some dumb reason, Coach Strummer decided to combine two periods of gym that day (what kind of school still had gym in high school anyway?) and lo and behold, her gym period coincided with Lucas'. The juniors were on flag football while the sophomores were running 5K that day, one of the worst—and she meant _worst_ —activities to ever be included in any chapter of gym, not only because it was freezing cold outside, but also because of the standard uniform. Thin felt shorts and those awkward unisex t-shirts that were completely unflattering to the figure and soaked up sweat like a sponge. And Maya was practically drenched from the amount of sweat her stupid pores had decided to release.

Thankfully Zay was still in her class to keep her company, though he'd disappeared off somewhere to flirt with Vanessa (unsuccessfully, if Strummer's frequent yells at his expense were any indication). Missy apparently had gotten a note from a "doctor" stating that she had a sprained ankle and couldn't participate for the next few weeks, then sauntered off the field haughtily. It was ridiculous, but a note was a note and the Bradfords were one of the highest donating families to the school. They had a golden plaque in the special place in the headmaster's hall honouring their contributions to the school. Plus they'd basically paid for the new theatre. Missy could practically do whatever she wanted.

Maya rubbed her arms when a blast of cold air from the breeze hit her entire body. She shivered as she exhaled and watched her tufts of cold breath materialise in the air. This had to be criminal! It was too cold to be running this long. Maya wasn't out of shape, but this was too much considering how much she was dealing with in her life right now.

She was utterly exhausted. As if having a tough as nails coach (who rumour had it, used to train marines or something) wasn't bad enough, April's lessons were getting harder by the day. The quizzes weren't so bad, but she always started the lessons with a recap on poise and etiquette, which were the absolute bane of Maya's existence. Maya usually retained information well, but this was really forcing her to study extra. The lessons weren't that terrible now that she'd at least gotten a week in, but they still took a lot of energy out of her and coupled with taxing days of school, she could barely find time for herself or to focus on school.

Coach Strummer blew her whistle, shouting some order for one of the juniors to spiral their damn ball and roused out of her thoughts, Maya glanced over at the middle of the field, wondering why the damn woman couldn't take a chill pill. As she watched some of the juniors toss around the footballs, her eyes drifted over and accidentally settled on Lucas. For some reason, he was staring at her and Maya wondered if she looked stupid running or if there was some embarrassing stain of sweat on her shorts in some awkward place or if she had severe boob sweat. She was tempted to make a face at him to get him to stop _watching_ her, but then he shouted 'watch out!', pointing in the direction in front of her. Maya turned back to face the front in confusion just as she noticed Riley stooped over in the middle of the track, tying up her shoelaces.

There was absolutely no chance to fully slow her momentum in time even if she tried.

Maya tripped on her own feet as she tried to skid to a stop and crashed right into Riley, whose head snapped around to stare wide eyed at Maya at the very last second. She was unable to save herself either. With a startled cry and a shout of pain, Maya toppled onto Riley in a tangle of flailing limbs, flipping over her and landing sprawled on her back, the wind knocked out of her body as she stared up at the sky and tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. Riley was lying on her side beside her, groaning and blinking owlishly at her in confusion.

She could hear people laughing hard in the background even though Coach Strummer was blowing the crap out of her whistle to get people to settle down and 'stop acting like a bunch of damn fools'. Maya sat up slowly with a groan, glancing over at the field in embarrassment. Lucas was turned slightly away but she could clearly see from his shaking shoulders that he was definitely cracking up too. It seemed like everyone had stopped what they were doing in favour of watching the entertainment of the spectacle.

Great.

"A-are you okay?" Riley asked in concern as she pushed herself up to her knees, looking terrified. "Your elbow is bleeding."

Maya lifted her arm, just then feeling the pain shooting up her arm for the first time. Riley was right. Her elbow was skinned, a decent sized circle slowly bleeding and dripping down her arm.

"I'm good. You?"

Riley nodded, climbing up to her feet and brushing off her legs. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stopped so suddenly in the middle of the pathway."

"It's not your fault. I wasn't paying attention. Besides, I ran into you."

"Ouch, that looked like it hurt." Zay came to a stop nearby them, taking Maya's hands and helping to pull her to her feet. "Are you two injured?"

"I'm fine," Riley responded. "But Maya is bleeding."

Maya frowned in surprise. "Wait. You know my name?"

" _Matthews_!" They heard Strummer suddenly bellow. "If you tie your damn shoelace one more time, you're running an extra three laps! Get going!"

Riley squeaked in fright and continued her run.

"Hart, Babineaux! No chatting! Get moving!"

"I hate gym," Maya muttered angrily as she checked her throbbing elbow. "That woman has no empathy for anyone."

"You know what? I'm tired of being yelled at by her too. Can't a guy flirt in peace?" Zay said. "This is our chance to skip out on the rest of this stupid run. I'm freezing my nads off here."

They made their way off of the track and towards the centre of the field where their burly coach was yelling at Lucas, Wyatt, and Billy to stop goofing off and keep working on passes. When they approached, Maya kept her gaze decidedly off Lucas though she could definitely hear Billy snickering.

"Coach Strummer, I cut my elbow," Maya said, showing her the bleeding skin. "Can I go to the infirmary?"

"Is the bone sticking out of your arm?"

"No."

"Can you see the white squishy part under your skin?"

Maya shook her head in confusion. "But I'm _bleeding_."

"Anything rattling at all?"

"Well… uh, no?" she responded, taken aback by her brash question.

"Then you can continue to run. There's no need to go to the nurse's office." She blew her whistle long and loud. "Steinfeld! Patel! If you two don't stop talking while you run, I will personally come over there and give you something to talk about!"

Maya couldn't believe this. Why were all the adults that she knew such nuts?

"Actually Coach? She's really hurt," Zay stepped up and said. "I think she twisted her ankle too, right Maya?"

"Yeah," Maya said, picking up on Zay's subtle eyebrow raise cue to follow along. "I think I sprained my ankle."

Lucas snorted, shaking his head incredulously as he tossed the ball back to Billy. "Yeah and pigs fly…"

"The _pig_ might just end up flying if he doesn't shut up," Maya shot back.

His only response was an infuriating smirk.

"Friar, go back to your passes," Coach Strummer said, glaring at him. He put his hands up placatingly and turned around to go back to his task. "Hart, if you want to go to the nurse's office for your ankle, I don't give a shit as long as you get off my field. I won't be held liable for your injury. Babineaux, go with her."

They glanced at each other, but didn't say anything, walking quickly off the field and taking their opportunity to get out of gym. They headed up the stairs back to the rear doors of the gymnasium and made their way to the locker rooms to change out of their sweaty garments before they would head to the nurse.

"I don't think I've ever met such a heartless woman," Maya said as she lifted her arm and shook her bloody elbow at Zay. "I'm over here bleeding, and she has no fuck's left to give. She must be the worst teacher here."

Zay laughed. "Nope. She's way better than Mr. Wanker."

"Who's Mr. Wanker?"

"He teaches remedial Euro History for the juniors who skipped out on taking it sophomore year. Lucas has him, and I've heard some horror stories about the class. Apparently, he really lives up to his name." Zay nudged Maya playfully. "And speaking of said Texan, I think you kind of like Lucas~"

Maya gave him a dry look. "Hilarious."

"No, seriously. I think you're interested, Blondie. He could be interested too." But Zay was snorting and trying not to laugh.

"Because of my oh so _radiant_ first impression?" Maya deadpanned sarcastically. "You're not funny, Zay."

He chuckled. "Hey, where were you yesterday? I texted you, and you never responded."

She'd been in the middle of a lesson, getting chewed out by April for being inept at understanding the nuances of the politics in Valderia. And then she'd gotten a pop quiz on table etiquette and clearly failed.

"Uh… Sorry, my mom and I went out to see a movie and I was so tired by the end of the night that I passed out immediately."

"Cool. What'd you guys see?" he asked.

"Uh…" She should have thought ahead. "Actually we went ice skating."

Smooth, Maya.

"Okay…" Zay said slowly, frowning. "You're acting jittery. You good?"

"Peachy. Never been better." Maya kept her gaze straight ahead, hoping her neck wasn't doing that thing where it turned red when she started to get flustered.

"You've been giving off this vibe of being stressed lately so I was a little concerned."

"Thanks, Zay. But I'm feeling a lot better now." She gave him a reassuring smile, hoping it would tide over his unease for the time being. "How about I come over tonight and we can play video games and study?"

She would be tired from her lesson, but if she wanted things in her life to seem normal, she had to continue to do things the same way she'd done them before.

"Come at eight. I'll be back from ballet by then. Also, just so you know, Lucas was planning to come over tonight too."

Maya dropped her head back in exasperation. " _Urgh_."

"C'mon. He's not so bad once you get to know him."

"He's dorky. And annoying."

Zay smiled. "While somewhat true, he's a nice guy. You don't even know him. I think you guys could be good friends if you gave him a chance. So are you coming over or what?"

"Fine. I'll come over."

~.~.~

"I hope you have taken good notes, Maya," April said, cleaning off the marker board and wiping away the lecture point she'd written on it. "You will be having a test tomorrow on politics and diplomacy. Do you have any pressing questions?"

Maya nodded, opening up her notes where she'd scribbled a bunch in advance in preparation for the 'pressing questions' question. She'd long since learned that if she didn't have a question for April, her face would pinch up in this irritated way and then the next lesson would feature two times the information of the previous lesson.

"I was wondering why King Milt and Princess Ovum and even my father and so many others were required to get married to a member of a noble family for political reasons. Why? If it's a constitutional monarchy oligarchy thing with the focus of power on the monarch, why is the political leverage such a large concern?"

April looked surprised. "That's an excellent question."

"Why do you look so surprised?" Maya asked, raising a brow.

"Well, it's never something I really thought about. It's been such a constant for so many years, I didn't think about that. Those who don't have a prospective consort by the end of their eighteenth year of life typically are assigned one to marry. I suppose it's a good way to end the constant pestering from noble families about how the lineage of the Dungworth's can possibly continue with no heir through a marriage. And the marriage also helps tide over particularly dissenting families by establishing them as a member in the court. Thus everyone wins."

Except for the monarch who couldn't marry who they wanted to. "So if my father hated his fiancée?"

It had to have been the reason he'd deserted Valderia and went to America. From what Maya had learned about the Rizzos—a shady family who have been trying to usurp power for years—she wouldn't want to get married to someone in their family either.

"He had no choice in the matter," April said a bit sharply, her expression darkening. It must have been a touchy topic for her. "It was a sacrifice he had to make for the greater good of his kingdom."

"What the fuck…?"

"Maya!" April barked in disdain.

"I mean crap," she amended, waving her hand apathetically. "That's such a dumb rule. If I ruled and still didn't have someone by my nineteenth birthday, would I be subjected to the same thing?"

"I suppose so," April pondered, cleaning up some of her materials from the lesson. "That family whose daughter your father was previously engaged to, the Rizzos, they have a grandson who is three or four years your senior. A political wedding to him could help relieve some of the tensions that have developed as a result of Kermit's behaviour."

"I'm not getting married to some random guy just to stabilise a kingdom. I want a choice in the matter of what person I end up marrying," Maya said in disgust. "Ever heard of marrying for love?"

"Well that is the best way to prevent a lot of fighting amongst each other if you want to keep from creating major enemies in politics."

She frowned. "Well, wouldn't it just be easier to put a few of those dissenting noble people in some kind of prominent positions of power instead? Like the daimyo in Edo Japan. It's also a pretty good way to keep tabs on the officials who you don't trust. And because they are so close to the monarch in their positions, if they do anything against your wishes, they put themselves in danger of being arrested for treason. Keep your friends close, but enemies closer. Marriages can backfire and relationships can dwindle and cause more problems, but this is a more impersonal method while still maintaining control over those families that dissent the most. In theory it should work."

"Archaic… but remarkable. It would take a while to implement though it might be possible," April said in fascination. "Did you learn about this in school?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "In part, but it's also kind of a common sense thing? Have you never considered that as an option?"

"I have not. Our constitution is a little outdated. We are used to the same customs in Valderia that many hundreds of years ago had used."

"Well you need fresh perspectives and ideas if you want your country to grow."

She nodded. "…Well done, Maya."

Maya blinked at her in shock. That was the first time she'd ever gotten blatantly complimented by April. Maya felt kind of proud that she had managed to teach April and get a compliment on the same day.

"For these last ten minutes, I would like you to write out a minimum one page informal edict for this political proposal you have just discussed with me." There was ghost of a smile on April's lips. "Include a discussion of pros and cons, and how one would go about implementing this system and potential backfires."

The smile dropped from Maya's face.

"Seriously?"

~.~.~

 **From: Bitch**

 **How's the hangin'? I would be there except I'm allergic to video games.**

 **From: Bitch**

 **And studying.**

Maya watched from the kitchen as Lucas beat Zay again in the round, shaking her head in disbelief as she responded to Missy.

 _the huckleberry dork is actually good at video games. really good. abnormally good_

 **From: Bitch**

 **What?! The nerve! /s**

 _i'm serious! i thought farm boys were supposed to have too many things to do to play video games. he broke my high score!_

"Actually, it's the other way around. I didn't have that much to do at Pappy Joe's sometimes so I spent a lot of time playing video games," Lucas said, looking over her shoulder at the text message. He gave her an amused look out of the corner of his eye. "Sore loser much?"

Maya gasped softly, turning around quickly and nearly bumping right into him. She stared up at him, surprised that she hadn't heard him come in and alarmed by how jumpy being in his presence made her.

(Plus, he smelled _really_ good).

"I let you win."

"Did you now?" He leaned against the counter beside her, watching her with this annoying little smile like he could read her mind.

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest for a moment when she met his sea-foam gaze.

 **From: Bitch**

 **Play nice, Maya. After all, Zay told me you have a crush on Country Boy lmao.**

"Yes. I let you win."

Maya quickly locked her phone before Lucas saw Missy's response. She cleared her throat and moved to the other side of the kitchen, opening up the cupboard to try to get the chips she'd gone in to get in the first place. They were at the very top shelf. Leave it to Zay's mom to put things at the top that only his father could ever reach.

She sighed dejectedly. If she had on her heels from the terrible lessons, maybe this wouldn't be such a big problem. And she stopped her train of thought immediately. She must really have been crazy if she was actually considering wearing heels of all things.

"Need some help?" Lucas asked. "You know, before you start climbing on surfaces?"

She nodded, stepping away from the counter as he reached up and easily brought the bag of chips down. Not for the first time in her life, Maya wondered why she'd had to inherit her mother's height.

"Thanks."

"How's your elbow?"

She looked down at the bandaged skin. "Well… the skin's gone. But it doesn't hurt."

"That's good. Uh, about the lack of pain." Lucas hesitated a bit before handing the bag of chips to her. She took it slowly, unsure how to converse with him as she stared at her nails. "Maya, look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I wasn't trying to be a jerk when we first met, you know? It's just… You just said something kind of personal, and I got hotheaded."

"I mean, I guess I did kind of antagonise you."

He rose a brow. "Kind of?"

Maya glanced past Lucas through the kitchen window and saw Zay making a heart shape with his fingers at them with obnoxious kissy faces. She vowed to get revenge on him one of these days.

"Okay, I did. But you were kind of a sour puss too."

"Sour puss?" he snorted. "Who says that?"

"I do! Shut up." Maya scoffed in slight offence, poking him in the stomach. "Are you really making fun of the way I speak? Where's your banjo, _Huckleberry_?"

"Okay fair enough." Lucas smiled. "Anyway, what I was trying to say, Maya, is that I'd like us to be friends."

"I don't think that's possible."

His brows furrowed, and he stared at her in contemplation, clearly wondering if she was kidding or not. Maya fought the urge to laugh at the expression on his face.

"…Why not?" he asked slowly.

"Because you beat my high score."

Lucas let out a little laugh, looking a little relieved. "You really are a huge sore loser. Compensating for your height?"

"Hey! Foul!"

"You guys want to keep flirting with each other," Zay called out, "or should we get to studying now?"

"We were not _flirting_ ," Maya responded, tossing Zay a warning look as she and Lucas made their way out of the kitchen to get back to the living room. "We talked out the whole messy first meeting thing."

"And Maya's capacity for being a sore loser," Lucas added playfully.

"We are so never going to be friends," she drawled in response.

He smirked. "Aww don't be like that."

"Like I said… flirting," Zay muttered under his breath as he cut off the TV and turned to the table where his Stat homework was resting.

Maya popped open the bag of chips and set it in the middle of the coffee table while they settled back into their seats. Okay, so maybe Zay had been right. Aside from a bit of awkwardness at the beginning of the evening, hanging out with Lucas wasn't so bad. And talking to him hadn't been so bad either.

She'd been working so diligently on finishing up her close reading of her poem that she didn't hear Lucas speaking. They'd been silent for a good chunk of time up until that moment.

"What'd you say?"

"I said this picture kind of looks like you, Maya." He pointed to a photo in his history textbook. "Don't you think so, Zay?"

Maya scoffed and leaned across the table to get a better look at the image, half expecting it to be some weird looking, ugly animal or some really short individual from the Renaissance. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw that familiar whimsical smile notorious of the women in the Dungworth family. She didn't recognise who the ruler was, but without a doubt, she knew it had to be a monarch of her family.

There was a small caption on Valderia during the Renaissance wars. Interestingly enough, the passage was discussing Vermilion and Carmine's mother, Queen Pachyderm who participated in the battle and was said to have encouraged ten thousand weary men. Apparently her long speech on the prowess of a nation helped rouse them to receive Valderia's independence from Italy as its own nation state. Maya was relieved that there wasn't anything in the explanation that could reveal the truth about her heritage.

(On another note though, Valderia had a pretty dinky naming system for their children. That was one problem Maya had definitely avoided).

"She doesn't look like me," Maya stated resolutely.

"Hmm I don't know. She kind of does," Zay mused. "There are definitely similarities with your faces. Like a distant relation."

"It's a black and white picture," Maya argued. And thank goodness for that. If they saw the blonde hair and blue eyes this woman probably had, they would definitely believe there was some sort of connection between them. "There's no way you can tell."

"I guess…" Lucas muttered with a shrug, turning to the next page of his book to continue studying.

Maya's heartrate gradually slowed and she thanked her lucky stars that nothing had happened with that situation. That had been way too intense for her. Of all monarchs to choose, why had one of the ones who she most closely resembled shown up?

A text from Missy broke her out of her momentary fears.

 **From: Bitch**

 **Maya and Lucas sitting in a tree…**

It took all her willpower not to chuck her phone out the window.

~.~.~

Maya was pretty sure April enjoyed bossing her around and torturing her with these stupid quizzes with the most obscure information ever. She swore, every time April handed her one of the tests, she had this gleam in her eyes like this was her source of entertainment for the evening. She probably liked watching Maya squirm.

April pointed at a portrait. "Who is this influential monarch and when did he rule?"

"That's a trick question. Valderia wasn't independent at this point, so he wasn't a monarch so much as an influential lord of a manor," Maya said, raising a brow and enjoying April's look of genuine surprise. "Although many do consider him the first unofficial monarch since he was the one who took the first steps to incite the public to desire their own independence from the Italian monarchy."

Maya wasn't so interested in this whole history of the monarchs lesson, but she did enjoy the art aspect and the qualities of the portrait. It was fun to try to figure out what time period the portrait had been painted based on the colours used and the techniques that were being utilised in it. Art history had always been one of her favourite subjects.

"Also," Maya continued, "the painting might be dated back to the Renaissance as well once you consider the use of shadows and light and the techniques used to show perspective. I'd have to analyse it properly to really understand what period it was made in though."

"That's right. You're in art class as an elective," Harper mused, standing behind Maya and scrutinising the painting. "That's impressive, right Your Highness?"

"It is. Today's lesson has been stellar, Maya. Keep up the good work."

Maya beamed from the compliment, standing a bit straighter in the heels and feeling especially proud of herself. She'd been getting more and more compliments from April recently. Plus she hadn't tripped on her own two feet in a while, and they'd upped the height of the heels with no problem. Maybe she was finally starting to find her rhythm with these lessons. She sure felt like she was definitely getting better at poise and posture. The last time April had put the encyclopaedias on her head was the week before, and Maya took the lack of a heavy book on her head as a sign that she was improving. She had to say she liked being successful; it was a much nicer change of pace than April barking orders at her and tsking in disdain every time she messed up.

"Do you paint regularly, Maya?" April asked, sitting down on the plush couch as the butler entered her office with his tray of fancy dishware for tea.

"Yeah, I dabble a bit, but I don't have too much time for it anymore." Especially since her evenings were filled with princess lessons now.

"Excellent. A talent like that is very well respected for a Valderian monarch." April thanked the butler as he set the full trays down on the table, arranging everything neatly and creating the image of a royal tea party of some sort. "Every monarch must have a talent."

"What's yours?" Maya questioned curiously, sitting on the couch beside April when she gestured over to Harper and Maya to come over. Harper took her seat on the single chaise, pulling a novel from her back pocket. April gave her a dirty look when she realised that it was yet again another copy of the dirty literature Harper so often liked to read.

"Well," April mused, "I used to be an expert equestrian. I won many national competitions in my youth."

Of course she was. Maya could definitely see her as a horseback rider for some reason.

"Do you still ride? Competitively, I mean?"

"Oh no, dear." She smiled a little wistfully. "These old bones can't sustain that kind of movement anymore. But I still visit my Giselle every now and then and take her out to the pastures for a little trot. Have you ever ridden a horse before, Maya?"

"You mean before or after I was a juvenile delinquent?" Maya drawled sarcastically.

"Well, I can teach you one day. We have many royal palace horses; there's one named Davina that I think you'd take a liking to. You have the same spirit. I think you would really enjoy being atop a horse's back. It's a whole new perspective and definitely a great experience that everyone should have in life. And horses are wonderful, loyal creatures. I remember my first time on a horse as a girl, I got lost in the orchards at night and couldn't find my way back and my Pearl—rest her soul—brought me back safe and sound. I do believe my old riding gear should be able to fit you. We were about the same size when I was your age."

Maya smiled as April gushed about the horses. Talking like this, she didn't seem so much like the uptight instructor as a mentor. Or a grandma even. It was humanising. It made Maya want to get to know that side of April a bit more. The side of her grandmother and the fun times she'd had when she wasn't focused solely on ruling a country.

She had to admit, the lessons were starting to get a little fun now that they'd gotten past the more difficult preliminary stuff and could converse more easily. It was a definite change of pace, and Maya didn't feel like coming to lessons was such a chore anymore.

"You're still my size now," Maya snarked.

"I beg your pardon?" April replied in the same joking tone. "I most definitely am taller than you."

"I think you're definitely the shortest in this room, pipsqueak," Harper said to Maya, idly thumbing through pages to return to her spot.

Maya scowled in response. " _Anyway_ , that sounds nice. Learning to ride a horse, I mean. Can you teach me please?"

"I would love to Maya. We have excellent trails and pastures in Valderia that I would love to show you. Now," April gestured to the tea set with a wide smile, "we haven't gone over tea ceremony in a while. Pour a cup for all three of us please. The proper way."

Shit.

Maya didn't remember the whole dramatic way to do it, and she forgot the levels that were supposed to be in the cup. She scooped a small spoonful of the tea leaves out of the jar and put it into the bottom of their teacups, glancing briefly at April to gauge her reaction to see if she was messing up. But April was watching her patiently, her nose not wrinkled in disdain as it was oft to do when Maya messed something up. But now came the hard part, pouring the water without spilling it down the sides or overfilling the right level for the cup.

In retrospect, Maya should have figured that a silver teapot with boiling water on the inside should be grabbed _solely_ by the handle, but in her rush to get it done and over with, she grabbed the handle with one hand and the side with the other. Her hands instantly felt like they were on fire, the heat sending a shock of pain through her entire body. With a cry, she tossed the teapot, and it flew open, spilling water everywhere around them.

And mostly on April's lap.

For a brief second of silence, Maya winced, bracing herself for the turmoil that would surely follow.

And follow it did.

The expletives that exploded from April's mouth as she shot up and hopped around made Maya's jaw drop. Even Harper stopped her perusal of her novel and looked up at April with barely concealed shock. To think the regal queen even knew those kinds of words much less let them slip out of her lips.

Breathing heavily, April gradually stopped hopping around, her eyes tightly closed as she chewed her lower lip to get herself back in check. When her eyes opened, Maya saw murder in the sharp blue-grey as she turned slowly to face Maya.

She was so screwed. Might as well go for broke.

"…That wasn't very queen-like of you, April," Maya said, cautiously handing her the towel resting on the table.

April fumed silently, gritting her teeth and looking like she was about to blow while she dabbed delicately at the soiled clothes on her lap. Harper started laughing raucously in the background, doubled over and slapping her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Harper, add an extra thirty minutes of poise every day for the next month to Maya's schedule. In addition, we will begin the next week of lessons with a rehashing of the proper way to pour tea for ceremony," April growled lowly, her neck red and a look of fury etched onto her face. "And finally, en lieu of pouring this tea, which you have clearly butchered, I want you to write a one thousand word short paper on the importance of tea ceremonies amongst royal monarchies, what that significance is, and how it is a part of the royal traditional court culture. Due by the end of class. You will also clean this mess up. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go change."

Dammit, Maya took it back.

This wasn't fun at all.

~.~.~

Maya stretched her legs out on the bleachers, unwrapping her hot dog and opening her laptop to finish up that essay April had given her the week before to summarise post-Renaissance court life. She'd been putting it off indefinitely, but since Missy was playing hookie to miss an exam that day and Zay was out with a cold, there was no one to distract her from her work. She figured now was as good a time as any to get some work done, especially since she was eating by herself on the bleachers.

Or so she thought, until Lucas climbed the bleachers from out of nowhere and plopped down beside her.

She turned and looked at him in confusion. "Hi…?"

He smiled slightly as he took his blazer off and rolled up the sleeves of his uniform shirt. "Mind if I sit here?"

"No, but are you lost?" she asked, taking a bite of her hot dog. "This is Nerd zone, you know?"

"I saw you out here by yourself and thought you'd want company." He shrugged, opening his own lunch and pulling out a sandwich. "Zay's not here today."

"Thanks, I guess?" Maya said. It was a nice gesture, though she was honestly a little baffled as to why he wanted to sit with her. "Why aren't you with the Pops?"

At his questioning look, she sighed.

"Popular kids. The ones who are very put together at the top of the food chain are called Princesses and Princes. Get with the lingo at this school, or you'll always be That New Guy."

His brows furrowed a bit in distaste. "They're just too… put together."

"Gee thanks. I'm glad I'm such a sloppy mess," she muttered around a mouthful of her food, a little annoyed by the implication of his words.

Was that the impression she gave everyone? That she was a wild, sloppy mess? April sure seemed to think so. Ever since her tea blunder a while back, her grandmother had been cracking down harder than ever and as much as she hated to admit it, it was messing with her self-esteem a little. Here she'd made so much progress and now it was like she was at ground zero, the same Maya she'd started as. In her defence though (because April was being such a hardass right now), these traditions and cultural customs weren't easy to learn as an outsider. Maybe if she lived there for a little while she'd be able to pick it up faster.

"I didn't say that you were a mess—though you are," he joked. "I just prefer to hang out with people who, I don't know, people who are more down to earth. It makes me feel less nervous. I can talk to you. But trying to talk to them is harder."

"That's surprising. I wouldn't have expected that from you." She thought he'd fit right into that group; he certainly looked the part. "You look like you'd be a generic jock. No offence."

He nodded, chewing thoughtfully as he stared at the field as the groundskeepers trimmed the edges. "Looks can be deceiving, huh?"

Maya knew all about that.

"Yours were too." Lucas' gaze shifted to hers, and Maya was thrown off guard by how clear they looked in the afternoon light. "Your first impression, I mean."

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Deceiving. Zay mentioned a lot of things about you that I was surprised of when I met you."

"…What kind of things?" Maya grumbled with narrowed eyes.

Zay wasn't known for discretion or secrecy. She was going to kick his ass if he said anything embarrassing.

"Nothing like what you're probably thinking. He just said you were rebellious and an anarchist and the like. That you used to graffiti buildings once upon a time. So I was seriously expecting some chick wearing all leather. Maybe bright coloured hair. Or a mohawk."

"We rebellious girls come in all shapes, forms, and sizes." She smirked as she tore open her bag of chips and munched on a few. "What, were you pleasantly surprised, Huckleberry?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, hesitating, and she definitely caught the distinct redness of the tips of his ears. Was he blushing?

"I-I mean, yeah I guess. Only because you didn't look like what I'd pictured at first."

"So I exceeded your expectations is what you're saying." She nudged him in the ribs playfully.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm saying that I didn't expect you to be a Hobbit."

Maya's smirk slipped from her face at the insult, and she growled at him as he chuckled to himself. "That's not funny."

"What? You can dish it, but you can't take it?" Lucas goaded, clearly challenging her to continue this stupid banter. "Last I checked you talked some shit about my car."

"The Hobbit comment was an unnecessary addition. I already apologised for saying that clunker of yours runs on luck every time you turn it on."

He grinned. "Touché."

They fell silent for a bit as they ate their lunch. Lucas started scribbling on a worksheet, clearly trying to catch up on an assignment he probably procrastinated while Maya worked on her essay, writing down patronising sentences just for the sake of annoying April. She threw in some bad grammar here and there. She knew it wouldn't yield good results, but hell, she wasn't getting graded for this. Plus she wanted to get back at April for bringing the encyclopaedias back to the stupid poise lessons just because Maya had accidentally scratched the floor when she dragged her foot. April wasn't the only one who could be vindictive and petty.

She honestly still couldn't understand why April expected so much out of her. Maya knew she was making a lot of progress in learning the art of being a princess, but that didn't mean she was going to be ready in a week. These kinds of things probably took months. A handful of lessons didn't make someone ready for ruling an entire nation overnight. April put a deadline for May, but it was nearing November, and Maya still didn't feel anywhere near ready.

"What are you working on?" Lucas asked after a little while of comfortable silence.

"Extra credit project for my history class," she lied.

His brows rose. "Extra credit? You're really diligent about school, huh?"

"I had some trouble being a good child when I was younger." Understatement of the century. "I figured this was the least I could do for my mother."

"Yeah, I can definitely relate to that."

Maya frowned, her attention taken off of her laptop screen. "You? You look like a Golden Momma's Boy. What did you do?"

"We all have our secrets," he responded a little tightly, his gaze shifting away uncomfortably.

She nodded, understanding that this wasn't a topic that he felt comfortable discussing at the moment. Whatever he deemed made him a bad child, he was clearly regretting bringing it up. Time for a subject change before things got awkward. The conversation hadn't been so bad so far. She would hate for it to start getting awkward now because of a touchy topic.

"Okay. Hypothetically," Maya said, "would you ever believe that I could be a princess?"

"A princess? Like crown wearing, ruler on a throne? Or one of the Pops?"

"First one."

"Like an Iron Throne heir in danger of being executed in the throes of political warfare kind of throne?" he joked.

"Not that dramatic, you dork." Maya couldn't help but laugh. "I mean Disney princess. Court life, big poofy dresses. That kind of thing."

"…I could see it, I guess? Sort of." Lucas scrutinised her carefully. "You in a poofy dress though? Nah. There are no words for how goofy you'd look."

"Hey, can it! I can so wear a dress and look good!"

"Like a troll maybe," he continued anyway, tugging on one of the wild locks on her head. "If you brushed your hair, _maybe_ even you could make it work."

She brushed his hand off her hair, her cheeks heating with a furious blush. "For your information, _this_ is a fashion choice. It's called natural tousling, and I look damn good with it."

Lucas chuckled. "Regarding you as a princess thing, I think you could be a good one. From what I've heard about you, you seem loyal, courageous, and a natural born leader. You'd do well with those traits."

"Whatever Zay told you about me, he probably exaggerated. Those adjectives sound nothing like me," she muttered under her breath.

Those certainly weren't the first ones that came to most people's minds. The word stubborn seemed to pop up a lot more. That and wild.

"Maybe to you." He tilted his head, trying to catch her eye to let her know he was sincere. "But from our short acquaintance, I believe they're true. Although I would add tenacious and sore loser to that list."

She looked up from her assignment, stunned by his declaration, her heart skipping a beat in her chest when he smiled softly at her. He believed that from nothing but a handful of conversations and meetings? They'd only known each other for about a month at this point, but she could tell he _was_ being wholly sincere.

"How can you agree with that? You barely know me…" she said quietly. She didn't mean it as a standoffish question and she wasn't trying to be disparaging, but she was honestly curious about his assessment of her in such a short time.

"True," his expression turned thoughtful as he sipped his water, "but I kind of feel like I've known you my whole life."

Butterflies erupted in her stomach as she stared at him. The statement should have weirded her out, but for some reason, she could relate. There really was something weird about Lucas that made her feel pretty comfortable with him, despite the fact that they hadn't known each other that long.

She opened her mouth to respond, but was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of one of the teachers at their school.

"You two!" She stormed down the track field, wagging a furious finger at them. "What are you doing by yourselves out here? Demerits for you both!"

Maya growled under her breath, rising to her feet with Lucas as he winced in apology. This was so stupid. Ever since one of the senior couples had gotten expelled for getting caught hooking up in the janitor's closet, the school became more strict on cracking down on student relationships. She could understand their desire to keep the image of the school without scandals, but seriously? A demerit for having lunch alone outside? They weren't even together. Maya hated these dumb rules.

By the time the teacher had gotten their information to "award" them demerits, the end of lunch bell had already rung. Lucas trailed along beside her as they headed inside the building and down the halls, manoeuvring their way past the crowds of people bustling about to get to class on time.

"Hey, you know… Thanks," Maya said.

"For what?" He looked confused.

"Ummm… for eating lunch with me." She averted her gaze, feeling a bit nervous. "It was nice, even though we got that stupid demerit. You're not so bad. You know, for a Huckleberry dork."

A teasing look appeared on his face. "Aww. Were you that lonely?"

Maya rolled her eyes, coming to a stop in front of Fairhaven's class. "Get off your high horse. Anybody's company would have done."

"Yet you didn't mind staying outside with _me_." He leaned down, his mouth curved up in a smirk. "Therefore, your argument is a lie and you wanted _my_ company. Which I'm happy to oblige, anytime, anywhere. Just say the word. I'll be there."

She took a slight step back from him, her pulse jumping from his tone. "Don't get a big head."

He was having trouble forcing down the huge grin forcing its way on his face. "Hey, you're the one who has a crush on me."

" _What_?!"

Lucas started laughing hard at her reaction, and Maya glowered up at him for nearly giving her a heart attack with that ridiculous comment.

This conceited, little…

Maya scoffed, rolling her eyes and wishing she could tell him off as badly as she wanted to. Just as she flipped him off in response, Mr. Fairhaven suddenly stepped out of the classroom.

"Miss Hart. Demerit for vulgarity in the school building. If you would come in and take your seat, please."

Lucas winked at her, hurrying off to get to his class while Maya stood there for a few seconds, her mouth agape and eye twitching in annoyance.

Dammit, Lucas was bad news! Aside from the fact that he had these stupid green eyes that made her heart beat faster and this dumb, dorky smile that almost made her stutter, she'd gotten two demerits in one day thanks to him.

~.~.~

"1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Yes, very good Maya. Make sure to keep your shoulders relaxed. Very nice. Keep your chin up," April called out, clapping in threes as Maya slowly turned to and fro across the floor following the steps, pretending to waltz with an imaginary partner. "Relax your shoulders, but keep your arms up. Now spin. 1,2,3— Excellent!"

Maya sighed, wishing that this waltz lesson could be a little more exciting. She'd been practicing all afternoon without a partner, April correcting her posture and motions every once in a while and ordering her to do the same steps over and over again to the same old record. Where was the variety in this? Maya almost wanted to do poise instead of this.

( _Almost_ ).

"So why'd you name my dad _Kermit_ , April? Do you love your son?"

 _Did any of the monarchs love their children?_ she wondered as an afterthought.

Because some of those names were truly reprehensible. Pachyderm came to mind here. As did Ovum and Milt.

April laughed. "I was intoxicated."

Maya stopped moving, snapping her head around and staring at her. This woman was full of surprises. "What the f—"

"No cursing."

"—udge popsicle. Wait, you were drunk?!" Maya thought her mind was going to explode. "During childbirth or after? I'm so confused."

"It was a joke, my dear. Continue the steps."

"You tell jokes?!" Somehow that discovery was even more crazy to Maya than what she'd said before.

Harper snorted, and April sighed in exasperation, removing the vinyl from the record player to flip it over.

"Believe it or not, Kermit is a very popular name in Valderia, Maya. It's a strong, proud name. One of Valderia's patriarchs of the noble families in our founding bloodline was of the name Kermit." April folded her hand on her knee. "We'll really have to do something about that foul mouth of yours though. Harper tells me you've gotten many a demerit for vulgarity."

"Tattle tale," Maya sneered at the bodyguard.

Harper took an innocent sip of her tea, crossing one leg over the other and ignoring Maya's dirty look. When April turned to set the record player and wasn't looking, Harper stuck out her tongue patronisingly. Maya really wanted to flip her off. The music began to play again, and April snapped her fingers for Maya to start again.

"Stand up straight, Maya. Good posture—a straight back and head held high—is how you give the impression of a strong, commanding ruler with no fear. You should be able to maintain this position with arms held out at shoulder level for _at least_ thirty minutes."

"Thirty?! That's a workout. My arms will get tired."

"Build endurance then. You will be whisked in dance after dance after dance with little to no rests or breaks during banquets. Get used to it now or suffer later. Your choice."

Maya growled under her breath but began the steps again to April's claps, making sure her arms were at the right level and her shoulders were relaxed. But she was starting to get a little sore from being stuck in the same position for so long.

"It's also a great workout to maximise training to your glutes, quads, and abdominal and shoulder muscles. You'll be in great shape by the end of the year, Maya," Harper added.

When April glanced away for a moment to pick up the teacup on her desk, Maya did flip Harper off.

" _Maya_ …" April warned. "It looks like we'll have to extend this lesson another hour to discuss vulgarity and the unnecessary use of it. I would like you to write a 750 word essay due at the end of this lesson on how crass cursing is and why it has no place coming out of the mouth of a respectable monarch."

"You literally cursed a couple weeks ago. And it was pretty vulgar if you ask me. Shouldn't you be practicing what you preach?"

"It was a onetime occasion to hot water being dropped on me by _you_ , in case you don't remember," April said haughtily, turning her nose up in that way that made Maya feel completely and totally inferior, like some kind of gnat. She had to learn how to do that. "A 1000 word essay is probably more sufficient for you. In addition, I would like you to write a well thought out thesis and outline for an essay on disrespect and sass, what it means, why it is unnecessary, and steps on how to rid yourself of it."

"Wow… Seriously?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" April replied, taking a nonchalant sip of tea. If Maya didn't know any better, she could have sworn April had a smirk on her lips. "Also, don't forget your already assigned ten page paper on role models due next week."

Maya groaned. April's vindictive assignments were going to kick her ass.

Excuse her, her _gluteus maximus_.

~.~.~

"Maya," Harper said, coming up to Maya as she was gathering her stuff from her locker. "April thought you might like one day of break from lessons since today's a half day for break. You want a ride home?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said appreciatively.

"Alright, I'll meet you at my spot after school."

She had a buttload of final projects for classes as well as end of the year tests to study for before exams to complete during the break, not to mention all the assignments April _piled on her_ since she would get three days off of school. It was like she thought since Maya was free from school that that meant the work she gave her should make up the difference. It blew, especially when Maya had been planning to spend her break catching up on sleep and spending time hanging out with her friends and mom. It was as if whenever she thought she was finally done with other assignments, a whole plethora were suddenly dropped on her. She was practically buried in school work every day.

After Maya had gotten her stuff, she met Harper at the back and they went on their way so Maya could get home. There were a few flurries falling down now and then, which Maya found incredibly odd, considering how late snow usually came in the winter. It made the nipping cold that much more harsh against her face while they zipped through the streets. By the time they got to Maya's street, her nose was frozen and her fingers felt like ice blocks on her hands.

"How are you enjoying school now, Maya? In the past month, you look like you've been enjoying yourself more," Harper suddenly asked.

Maya was a little taken aback by the question. At the beginning of her life at John Quincy Adams Academy, she would have easily responded with how much she hated it. Even at the beginning of this fall term, she'd been hard pressed to admit she actually liked anything about it, but she didn't think it was altogether that horrible anymore.

Maya shrugged. "I definitely didn't dread going to school anymore. I guess it's because of my friends."

And a possible, tiny, super slim, maybe slight chance that it was also the princess lessons, though she would never admit that out loud.

"I'm glad things have gotten better for you. And I'm glad you've made good friends. I was worried your first year when you spent so much time alone," Harper said as she walked her to the door. "You and your friends are cute. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

"You mean Goldilocks and the three _boors_ ," Maya sighed, checking her phone and noticing she'd missed a call from Missy on the way back to her place.

She'd been manhandled by them all at least once. Even stupid Lucas was starting to poke fun of her height. Twice now he'd picked her up effortlessly like some doll, although to be fair, the first time it happened, it was to diffuse a situation. Elaine Mabrey, one of Riley's friends, had purposely hit Maya in the face with a dodgeball during gym, and Maya had wanted to retaliate by punching her in the face. She didn't understand why, but recently, Elaine and some of the others had taken to giving her dirty looks whenever she was talking to Lucas.

When they approached the door of her apartment, Katy was standing there, her lips pursed as she watched them. Maya swallowed thickly, nearly grimacing when she noticed her mother's 'I'm pissed off at you, so you better not smart mouth' pose complete with the crossed arms and tapping foot.

"Mom. I didn't think you'd be back so early today."

"Melinda took over for me. It's a good thing too, otherwise I wouldn't have known about this whole motorcycle ride thing. Are you serious, Maya?"

Harper gave Maya a dubious look that screamed 'you didn't tell your mom?'

Maya grimaced. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd mind. It's not the first time I've been on one. And back then, it was someone without a license. At least Harper is licensed."

"I didn't like you riding on one then either, Maya." Katy's stern expression made Maya realise that probably hadn't been the best argument to use to appease her nerves. "Harper, right? I'm not certain how comfortable I feel with Maya riding on one of those deathtraps to and from places."

"I understand your concern, but trust me, as her bodyguard, Maya's safety is of utmost concern to me. I'm a safe driver, and I would never put her in harm's way," Harper reassured her.

Katy hesitated, her eyes narrowing. "Still…"

"I think you're hesitating because you haven't ever ridden on one before. I can take you for a spin, if you'd like?"

"Well… maybe some other time. I'm not sure I'm ready for something like that. Besides, I don't trust anyone who thinks Leland and Rodger aren't better together."

"…Seriously?" Harper snorted derisively, rolling her eyes to the sky. "So you really are a fan of boring relationships, huh?"

"Just because they're quiet and quaint does not mean that they're boring. They have a deep intensity and an underlying passion."

She rose a brow, placing her hand on her cocked hip. "That's what all you Rodland shippers say to justify that pair. 'Underlying passion', my ass. What a load of crap. They have no chemistry."

"It is underlying passion!" Katy argued. "The looks they give each other, the way their gazes seem to always lock and hold from across the room. And you can't forget that Rodger gave up an opportunity for his dream archaeology fellowship to Nepal to save Leland from those tomb raiders. And when Karim asked Rodger to come with him to Japan on business for a weekend of sin, Rodger declined. He dropped everything for Leland; he's never done that for Karim."

"Because they're childhood friends, and he cares about Leland as a friend. But that's no excuse for the reasons they're so quiet around each other. Rodger's heart actually races when Karim is around, not to mention Karim can give him everything he's ever wanted and more in his difficult life. And how do you explain why only Karim whispering in his ear makes him h—"

"I'm calling Missy so pipe down you crazy women!" Maya yelled, squeezing between them to hurry to her own room before they really got deep in their discussion.

Maya had heard her mother rant about the book and the relationships in it before. And she sure as hell did not want to be there when they got into the sexual details about the relationships. If their argument was going where Maya thought it was going, then that meant they were about to start talking about the sex scenes. And as _enthralling_ as the books sounded, Maya would prefer not to hear about those details. She felt bad for her neighbours, who most certainly would be getting an earful of smutty details since her mother and Harper were arguing in the doorway.

Maya slammed her door shut and punched in Missy's number.

 _"Where are you right now?"_ Missy asked immediately, picking up on the first ring.

"I already left school. My mom needed me home."

 _"Well, who were you riding with? Billy said he saw you get on the back of a teacher's motorcycle. I didn't believe it though."_

Maya blanched, swallowing thickly. She had to be more discreet. "Uh yeah… that wasn't me. My mom drove me. She wanted to kick off break with some mother daughter time."

 _"Darn. Wanted to hang out. Anyway, wanna get a mani pedi tomorrow? My mum cancelled her routine appointment. Figured we could both go and split the service between us two. Like one foot, one hand each."_

Maya snickered. "That's weird as hell, Missy. Are we supposed to walk around with our other hand and foot looking less than stellar?"

 _"It'll drive my mum up the wall! So you free at five or what?"_

Dammit.

"I… I'm not." Maya winced as she chewed her bottom lip, trying to think of an excuse other than I've got princess lessons. "I've got… stuff."

 _"What kind of stuff?"_ Missy asked suspiciously.

"Umm… studying. I've got a test coming up after break." But even as she said that, Maya's nose wrinkled at the stupidity of her excuse.

 _"Yeah, but one little evening for a mani pedi isn't going to take away from your study time. You've got all break to study."_

"I mean, you know how I feel about my grades," she sighed, unconvinced by even her own words. "I can't lose my scholarship. I have to be on top of things."

Missy fell silent on the other end. She didn't respond for a while, and Maya pulled her phone away from her face to see if the call had gotten dropped.

"Missy? You there?"

 _"You blew me off twice last week already. And the week before you couldn't go out because_ _ **stuff**_ _. And the week before that, you kept not responding to my calls and texts because you said you went to bed early. So on and so forth. So just know that I'm starting to get annoyed with you, Scrub. Do you have a boyfriend? Because that's what your behaviour spells out to me."_

She'd said the words in a half joking tone, but Maya could tell Missy was probably a little peeved by her behaviour. Maya knew if she was in Missy's position, she'd be getting tired of it too. But it wasn't like she could just tell her what was going on. This princess secret had to stay hidden.

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that finals will be coming up soon, and I need to go in them with peace of mind over my grades."

Missy said nothing for several more tense seconds, and Maya held her breath, wondering if she was going to let it slide. It was an atrociously bad excuse, and Maya could just imagine the disbelief on Missy's face and that one prissy eyebrow she raised whenever she was peeved.

Finally, Missy let out a long breath. _"I get it Maya. You put more stock into school than I do. Just… I don't know. Stop going off the grid. Let me know you're alive and well every once in a while, kay?"_

"I promise."

 _"Let me know if you end up changing your mind tomorrow."_

"Yupp."

Maya hung up the phone, feeling a little sick to her stomach. Since they'd met, she and Missy never kept secrets from each other. It was part of the reason they understood each other so well. The last thing she wanted to do was make Missy feel like she was trying to ignore her or that she was trying to get out of their friendship or something, but she wasn't sure how to deflect her concerns. This was a secret Maya just couldn't share yet.

When she trudged out of her room in search for dinner, Harper was already gone and her mother was in the kitchen fixing up some food.

"Harper left?" Maya asked, dragging her feet into the kitchen and glancing around her mother at the stove top. It looked like some kind of stew. "Smells good, Mom."

"That woman is a menace," Katy grumbled under her breath as she tasted the broth. "How dare she insult my OTP? Like she knows any better. She likes _Rodger_ with _Karim_ for goodness sakes. Karim has a fiancée. Yuck."

"Sounds like you guys got along great," Maya drawled.

Katy gave Maya an affronted look. "Are you fucking kidding me?! She is the _epitome_ of obnoxious! With all that leather and her motorcycle and that annoying smirk. Does she always act like that?"

"Pretty much."

She was pretty cool in Maya's eyes though. Calm, cool, and collected. The exact opposite of her screwball mother. And although Maya did adore her mother and her wacky antics and tendencies, _Harper_ was exactly what Maya aspired to become in the future.

"You know what? I'm bringing her to my next book club meeting so my fellow Rodland shippers can debate her to the ground. Urgh, someone needs to knock her down a peg. I have half a mind to shove cake down her shirt…"

Maya tuned Katy out with a roll of her eyes, heading over to the fridge to grab some juice. As she closed the door and uncapped the bottle to take a swig, she got a text.

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **So… Zay tells me you're Miss Valedictorian of the sophomore class.**

 _i wouldn't go that far_

 _though i probably am in the top ten in the class ranking_

She texted as an afterthought, feeling like bragging a little. Her hard work this semester was showing, because her grades actually _had_ been stellar. (Barring the crappy Fairhaven paper). And she kind of liked the idea of Lucas thinking she was some sort of super genius. It definitely meant his first impression of her wasn't the predominant image of her he had now.

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **But you're oddly super good at history?**

 _i am fairly well-versed, yes. why?_

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Need help. I think I'm going to fail my test after the break.**

A few minutes later, he texted her again.

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Tutor me? *puppy dog pout***

 _what's in it for me? because hate to break it to ya, but that puppy dog pout ain't doing it for me_

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **The benefit of being graced by my wonderful presence for multiple hours.**

 _*torture, you mean. not benefit_

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **Ah, but you admit my presence is wonderful ;P**

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. He was such a dork.

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **It'd only be for a couple hours.**

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **I can do the evening if you're not free in the afternoon.**

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **I'll make you cookies.**

 **From: Huckleberry**

 **What do you say?**

She'd been so engrossed in the conversation, struggling to hold back a smile that she didn't realise her mom had gotten oddly quiet. Before she could even register that Katy had crept up behind her and was looking over her shoulder, her mother had already snatched the phone out of her hand.

"Ooooh! Who are you texting? A booooyyyy?" Katy teased loudly as she looked at the screen.

Maya gasped, spinning around to get it back, but Katy turned away from her and held the phone up over their heads. She tried to jump up and down to get the phone, but despite only being a little shorter than her mom, she couldn't manage to get it.

"Mom! Stop! Give me back my phone!"

"Who's Huckleberry?" Katy scrolled through the conversation, hunching over when Maya almost yanked her elbow down. "Your boyfriend? You guys sure are flirting hard."

"We are not flirting!" Maya's cheeks immediately flushed, and she wrapped her arms around Katy, trying to dig her fingers into her mother's side so she would uncurl. Katy squirmed in her hold, twisting around and laughing as she continued to read the messages. "Give me my phone, Mom! This isn't funny!"

"He sent you five texts in a row?" Katy waved the phone tauntingly with a playful smile, waggling her eyebrows and Maya took that opportunity to snatch her phone back. "Seems like he really wants you to come over and hang out."

"Because we're _friends_. And he needs help studying! That's what friends do."

Katy tsked. "That's not what those texts say. Read the sub-context."

Maya's nose wrinkled in distaste. "You're crazy, Mom, you know that? There is no sub-context. It's strictly platonic."

"Mmhmm." Katy chuckled to herself as she turned back to face the bubbling pot. "Then why do you not want me to see the text if it's platonic?"

"Because it's a major invasion of privacy! That is Number One of the Hart family's 'Things To Never Do' list. You've broken a major house rule!" Maya stormed out of the kitchen, glowering at her mother the whole way. This was so not cool. "If we were in Valderia, you'd be banished to the dungeons for your insubordination, immediate royal family immunity be damned!"

Katy laughed long and hard at that while Maya cursed her luck that her mother just _had_ to see the texts. Now she'd never let up about teasing her about Lucas.

She waited a full ten minutes when she knew her mother was deep in the throes of cooking—and not paying attention to her—before she finally responded to him.

 _early afternoon before three is fine_

 _and it's a date, Heehaw ;P_

~.~.~

Maya ended up not telling her mother when she went over to Lucas' to study. She instead told her mom she was doing her Christmas gift shopping a month early, but judging by the knowing look Katy gave her as she headed out for her shift at the diner, Maya could tell her mother didn't really believe her.

She and Lucas had started out studying, but midway through, she'd found out about his Star Wars sheets and made fun of him mercilessly about it. From there, they completely forgot about the studying and started talking. Maya still wasn't completely sure how their conversation had ended up on what to use to concoct the best sauces for a barbecue though. Overall, the studying only constituted about ten percent of her time at his place, and she was surprised how easy it had been to start hanging out as if they'd always been old friends.

"Who the hell barbecues during the winter? That's so strange," Maya laughed.

Lucas sighed for the umpteenth time. "Give me a break. New York is cold and weird, and I've been on a farm in Texas most of my life. We barbecue all the time because winter is fairly warm. It's not snowy and cold like here."

"Wait, so will you be experiencing your first snowfall here?"

He gave her a look. "Yes, but don't misunderstand. I _know_ what snow looks like."

"Awww you're so cute, Sundance," Maya said in a baby voice, pinching his cheek patronisingly.

"Stop that." He waved her hand away from his face. "I've gone skiing before in Canada."

She sighed dramatically, pretending to wipe away tears. "Sweet little Huckleberry missed out on so much. Making snow forts, snowball fights, toboggan rides."

A small smile tugged the corners of his lips up. "You're impossible."

"I still think your barbecue thing in the winter is just weird though. Where are you going to do it? Out on the street?"

"On our balcony, Maya."

"And if it snows?"

Then his mother knocked on the doorframe, poking her head in and raising a brow at them both. "I thought you invited Maya over to study. I don't hear studying in here. I told you, Lucas: if you fail a test again, no more baseball."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry," he responded, rubbing the back of his neck as it turned red in embarrassment.

"Are you planning to stay until dinner, Maya?"

"Oh no, Ms. Friar. I have to go home soon anyway."

She really did have to leave soon. Maya had left her good slacks in her closet and had an appointment with April that afternoon. As much fun as she was having hanging out with Lucas, she knew she would eventually have to leave to go back home to get her pants to change.

"Alright. Study, Lucas."

His mother left, and Maya waited until her footsteps had receded down the hall before she turned to Lucas with a wide grin.

"Ma'am? I've never seen a real life Momma's boy before. You're kind of an exotic creature, you know?"

"And I wear it with pride," he muttered, shaking his head. "My mom's a nightmare if you get on her bad side. Trust me, if she was your mom, you'd do the same."

She didn't blame him. His mom seemed blunt and scary. Kind of severe too, even though she was fairly friendly. She didn't sugar coat and sweet talk Maya when she had met her an hour ago. Just offered some pretzels and water told them not to make too much noise while she finished up some cases and files for work.

Maya went back to sifting through various noblemen and princes and dukes on the internet. She found it really interesting how the friends in her group all seemed to have different types of mothers who behaved in different ways. Her mom was a little crazy sometimes and at times the child in their family. Zay's mom was soothing and inviting and unbelievably sweet and giving, like a warm mug of tea. Missy's stepmother was prissy and cold, caring more about her and her daughter's image than being a mom. And Lucas' was strict and seemed a bit abrasive.

"Looking for an imaginary boyfriend?" Lucas teased, glancing over her shoulder and catching her a bit off guard from her musings.

She wondered what he was talking about until she remembered what was on her search bar. They were potential suitors who she would apparently be introduced to during the next couple of years until she became suitable and of age for marriage. April had been mentioning them quite a bit, as if trying to sell a product for Maya to buy. Maya figured she might as well do some research into these people so maybe if she feigned more interest, April would back off with the prince talk.

Some of these guys were cute, but they seemed like they'd be spoiled or pampered. She didn't believe a single one of them had lived a day in the real world, and she wasn't interested in some daffodil consort who wouldn't be able to connect with their subjects because they'd never actually experienced life like their subjects.

"Future husband, actually," she finally said.

It wasn't technically a lie.

He gestured to her screen. "Most Eligible Princes? You're aiming pretty high."

"Why not princes or dukes? Set the bar high, shoot for the moon, right?"

"That's not how the saying goes." Lucas rose a brow in amusement. "You just combined two different ones."

Maya could feel her cheeks heat. "If you know what I meant, shut up."

"I never really took you for the attracted to the royalty, prince type," he said pensively. "Is it a fame and power thing?"

"Give me some credit. I'm _much_ more shallow than that," Maya joked, continuing her perusal. "It's clearly because they're wearing a tux, Huckleberry."

Lucas went back to his notes with a snort and shake of his head. "My mistake…"

She found it pretty damn funny that some people had taken it upon themselves to create a 'Most Eligible Princes and Princesses' website which ranked single royalty of the world monthly based on appearance, talents, likeability, altruistic tendencies, and more. One day, she might even end up on this list too. It felt weird to her. She knew she was a real actual princess, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't feel like she was royalty.

But in all honesty, these prince fan sites must have been written by fangirls and fanboys because nothing of substance was really presented. April was always going on and on about having a proper suitor who could match her in demeanour, conversation, and wit, but none of these guys really fit the bill.

Maya's gaze drifted over to Lucas curiously as he focused on reading his notes. She wondered what April might think of Lucas. He was almost princely—he could definitely pass for one. And he was a good guy, decent and not out of control. Plus he was a good friend and polite and somewhat charming in some ways. The kind of guy mothers and fathers would love for their daughters to bring home to introduce at dinner. He also was way more interesting than any of these potential consorts seemed. April probably would approve of Lucas as a consort.

And she stopped her train of thought immediately. No way was she considering Lucas as consort material just then.

What was wrong with her?

~.~.~

After the break ended and school resumed, Maya's life suddenly got much more hectic.

Inspired by her progress, April decided to give Maya a comprehensive final near the end of the year so she could put it all together, and in an effort to "foster a more relaxed learning environment in preparation for the final" Maya got a free day off. Technically, it was supposed to be spent studying and preparing for what was to come, but Maya wasn't about to waste a great opportunity to spend some time enjoying herself. A day off was a precious gift that was not to be wasted.

Except that she didn't get a chance to use her day off to rest because Zay dragged her with him to Lucas' "tryouts" for Varsity baseball.

"Remind me why I have to be here, again?" Maya groaned, rubbing her cold hands together and blowing air in them to heat them up. "I don't even like baseball."

Zay grinned. "Because we're being supportive friends. And you said you had free time when I asked."

"Yeah, but only because I thought you wanted to do something fun. What part of freezing our asses off on some cold bleachers on a windy day watching baseball tryouts is fun?"

"Guys without shirts on for you." He pointed to the other side of the field where the cheerleaders were rehearsing. "And I get a nice, inconspicuous view. Win-win. And I get extra points for the rhyme."

"Watching some guys get hypothermia is hardly a win for me…"

Zay laughed, but otherwise didn't respond. His attention was fully on Vanessa, who had been executing a bunch of backflips in a row while the other girls cheered and clapped. Maya did find it impressive, but still. She honestly was wasting her time being here.

It wasn't even really a real baseball tryout. The coach had just wanted Lucas to train with Varsity to see if he could keep up with the pre-season workouts. Under normal circumstances, tryouts would be officially held in March or so, but because the team was more or less set in stone, Lucas had to join either JV or V for pre-season workouts now. Even though he'd been varsity at his old school, because he was a transfer, Coach Carter had to make sure that Lucas was good enough for the team.

"You dragged me here, but you're not even paying attention…" Maya muttered, texting Missy and telling her to make Zay's life hell next time they hung out.

"And that's what you're here for. Give me the play by play when something interesting happens."

Maya sighed and turned back to watch the practice in the baseball field. As it stood, Lucas had been doing pretty well. When it'd been his turn to practice batting earlier, he'd gotten his hits in and the coach had told him they needed more power hitters like him on the team.

"Hey, look." Zay nudged her with his elbow. "Looks like the varsity soccer team is finishing their practice here. Didn't Charlie get on the team?"

Maya's attention snapped over to the guys, but not for the reason Zay mentioned. Sure, Charlie Gardner was impressive for being the only sophomore to make varsity that year, but she was much more interested in Josh. She sighed softly as she watched him run a hand through his hair, that cute little crooked smirk ever-present on his face.

"You know what? This plan of yours wasn't so bad, Zay. Thanks to you, I get to watch Josh."

Zay rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh brother…"

Josh turned around at the moment until he was facing their bleachers. He was looking right in their direction and lifted his hand to wave.

Maya's heart started beating a mile a minute. "Wait, is he waving to me?"

"It kind of looks like it." But Zay had a skeptical look on his face.

"I think he's waving to me," Maya said with a growing smile on her face.

It seemed almost too good to be true, but did that mean he'd noticed her finally?

Maya lifted her hand up too and waved back excitedly, only for Kyra Landon, one of the cute cheerleaders, to run out towards Josh and jump in his arms. They very quickly started making out, nearly eating each other's faces. Zay started laughing as Maya brought her hand down immediately. Her face burned. She hadn't realised Kyra was in the same area in front of their bleachers.

"You have the worst luck, you know that?"

He had no idea.

Maya's ears were hot on her face in embarrassment. "I thought he was looking at me! Anyone would have made that mistake."

"Man, I wish someone else had seen that," Zay cackled. "Too good not to use as blackmail!"

"I did," Lucas said as he climbed the steps of the bleachers and headed over to them. He was guzzling water from his bottle. Other members of the team were also climbing the bleachers in various states of exhaustion, heading to their stuff to pull out towels and other necessities during their break. "That must've been embarrassing."

"Especially because she has a crush on the dude."

"Seriously Zay?" Maya shot him a dirty look. She didn't want all her secrets aired out like dirty laundry.

"What? It's not like you hide it or anything."

"…A crush on _him_?" Lucas asked in partial disapproval and something like disdain as he turned to look out at the soccer players. "The guy with his tongue down some girl's throat?"

"One day that'll be me," Maya responded dreamily.

Slight looks of disgust briefly appeared on Lucas and Zay's faces before they disappeared. But she definitely didn't miss the look Zay gave him as if she was coocoo for cocoa puffs. They may have thought she was stupid, but she really did think one day Josh might turn around and see her and realise she was there all along. She knew his favourite TV show, flavour of candy, that he liked to go jogging near the Hudson in the evenings, that he photographed parts of the city for fun because he loved sightseeing. That he had ambitions to see the world because he didn't want to be constricted by commitments in one place. She was sure he was a sensitive soul and that they were kindred spirits, him and her, perfect for each other, and one day she was sure he would see that.

"Both of you shut up. And you," she jabbed a finger into Lucas' abdomen, "stay away from me. You smell like wet dog."

"I'm an athlete. It's a given."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you're sweaty and gross, and it makes me sick."

He made a face at her which she returned before he snorted and leaned over to drop his water bottle back in his gym bag. She knew he was purposely getting in her way, getting so close that his shirt almost rubbed against her, but she leaned way back to avoid accidentally getting touched by his sweat dampened shirt. Maya _hated_ exercise and sweating, and she was not about to get a mouthful of Lucas' pig sweat.

"Zay, pay up," Lucas said after removing his cleats and changing them out for regular sneakers. "I hit five balls into the other set of bleachers."

Zay nodded as he dug in his wallet and pulled out a twenty to give to Lucas. "Alright, props to you. That's impressive man."

Maya frowned. She'd been watching mostly the entire practice, and Lucas definitely hadn't done anything like that. Sure he'd made some good hits here and there, but none had gone into the bleachers. In the first place, the coach hadn't even been tossing fast enough pitches for someone to hit out of the field like that. He winked discreetly in her direction at her questioning look, and she realised he was totally playing Zay. And that was fine by her. Zay should have been paying attention. And this was total payback for forcing her to come to this when she could have been buried under her covers and snoozing right now.

"Five hits to the bleachers, huh? Not bad, Huckleberry."

He grinned. "Thanks, Shortstack."

"Hey Lucas! We're about to run four laps on the track before our cool down." Billy called him over from the stairs as the team began to head back down. "We're racing. Last person who finishes has to buy the team a round of smoothies after the practice game on Saturday. Twenty bucks says it's gonna be you."

"Hah, you're on!" He left and followed the others.

Maya and Zay watched in amusement as the coach told them to go and the guys took off like madmen.

"How quick do you think they'll tire out at that speed?" Zay asked with a raised brow.

"I give them one lap, max."

"So… Huckleberry. Shortstack. I like it. When did this happen?"

"You know…? I don't really know." It was true. They'd kind of just fallen into this habit of calling each other dumb nicknames naturally. He never seemed to really mind, so she'd just continued to do it. At this point, it was so common for them that she didn't really think anything of it when he called her these goofy names either.

"I'm glad you both got over that dumb fight the first time you met." The alarm in Zay's watch started beeping, and he checked the time with a sigh. "Dad expects me at dinner on time tonight."

"Oooh. What's your mom making for dinner?"

Mrs. Babineaux was a whiz in the kitchen. Maya was a huge fan of her cooking, and she would never forget the day she and her mother spent a Fourth of July celebration at the Babineaux barbecue and were treated to a crawfish boil that left them nearly catatonic from how good it was.

"Quinoa stuffed peppers and some tofu bullshit," he muttered. "My mom's on this health kick again because she's worried about my dad's cholesterol. He blackmailed me so that he wouldn't end up going through this alone."

Maya's nose scrunched up. "Gross. I would have stopped by to freeload, but I think I'll pass tonight."

Zay chuckled. "I'll save you one for lunch tomorrow."

"Hard of hearing, are ya?"

Zay shoved her shoulder playfully as he stood and hiked up his bag on his shoulders. "Don't forget to study for the test tomorrow."

She poked him back in the leg. "You should take your own advice, you nimrod!"

"Not happening." He laughed as he headed down from the bleachers and left. "Later, Blondie."

After Zay left, Maya pulled out her sketchpad and sat there as she considered where to head tonight. On the one hand, she could go home, eat cereal or something small and quick for dinner, and get some much needed sleep before she studied. But on the other, her mom was working all evening and wouldn't get in until after midnight. If Maya wanted to see her today and get free dinner, she'd have to go to Nighthawk. But it was so far from the academy, and Maya only had enough money on her subway card for one trip. She didn't have the time to wait at Nighthawk until Katy got off work either.

Her stomach growled painfully, and Maya nearly groaned, kind of wishing she had had her princess lessons that day. At least she got dinner, even if it was accompanied by April's barked orders to hold her fork the right way or stop scraping her knife against the plate or to sit up straight.

Maya shuddered and subsequently wondered if she'd suffered some sort of brain damage from all the tumbles she'd taken in poise practice if she was _really_ wishing she had a lesson.

Maybe she would call Harper and see if the woman could give her a ride.

As she came up with her plan, someone walked across the bleachers and stopped right beside her.

"Umm, excuse me? Maya?"

Maya glanced up and saw Riley, her gym bag rucked on her shoulder and a shy smile on her face. Judging by her hair plastered to her forehead and the sweatsuit she had put on over her uniform, cheerleading practice must have ended for the afternoon.

"Oh. Hey, what's up?" Maya said, wondering a bit why Riley was coming to talk to someone well below her on the totem pole of popularity.

"I uh…" She grimaced, suddenly looking very nervous. And then said in nearly one breath, "I wanted to apologise for causing you to sprain your ankle and I really wanted to say sorry all this time, but I wasn't sure how to approach you, and you probably were in a lot of pain and it was totally my fault so I'm really, really sorry and I hope you can forgive me!"

If Maya was mildly confused before, she was definitely confused now. "Sprained ankle?"

"From that time in gym? When you fell over me during the mile run and had to leave class?"

"Oh that?" That had happened a month ago. Had Riley been trying to apologise all this time? "Don't worry about it. I was faking it to get out of gym."

Riley's brows lifted in surprise, and she let out a small relieved laugh. The tension in her expression loosened, and Maya could see her physically relaxing.

"To be fair, I don't blame you." Riley shuddered. "That woman is terrifying. Worse than the boogeyman."

Maya nodded, still finding it a little weird that Riley was talking to her. "I'm sure she has fuelled some nightmares in her day."

"Yeah definitely."

"Yupp."

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you're okay! My dad's here, so I have to go now. Bye, Maya!" Riley smiled brightly and waved congenially as she hurried on her way to leave.

"Bye…" Maya waved back with a small smile.

Riley was kind of a weird one. She'd held on to that apology for a whole month? If Maya didn't know any better, she'd have thought it was Riley's excuse to start a conversation with her. But that was a ridiculous suggestion in and of itself. Why would a Pop want to talk to the bottom of the proverbial food chain?

Maya stuffed her sketchbook back into her bag. The sky was starting to darken. Whatever she was planning to do, she'd better make a decision soon. She wondered if she should have just sucked it up and left with Zay.

The guys on the baseball team came to a raucous stop in front of the bleachers like a pack of animals, many of them breathing hard and a few wheezing and laying on the track nearly passed out from the torture they'd just put themselves through. Others had already started moving on to begin cool down laps. The physical demands of a sport just seemed awful. The guy who was in last place was fifty metres shy of finishing up, and Maya felt bad for him. There were a pretty large number of guys on the team. Looks like his life savings would be depleted.

"Maya, you're still here?" Lucas called out from the track in between his pants for breath. "It's getting late."

"Yeah, I was gonna start heading out soon." Her stomach growled again. "Need to figure out my dinner situation though. I'm famished."

"Yeah, same. I drove today. Do you want a ride to get dinner somewhere?"

Lucas Friar was a saint! She could kiss him!

"Yeah, that'd be great. Can we go to Nighthawk? My mom works there, and I get free food all the time."

"Deal." He smiled, walking backwards down the track when the captains called everyone to start their jog. "I'll be done with cool down soon, then we can go."

"Thanks! I owe you one!"

"Don't mention it. I don't mind!"

As he turned to start jogging, Billy stopped beside him and nudged him while waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Lucas pushed the laughing Billy away from him, though she definitely caught the fact that the tips of his ears had turned a bit red.

Huh. What was that all about?

~.~.~

"So it's just you and your mom too?" Lucas asked as he sipped on the water a waitress just brought.

The diner was crowded that evening, full of people fresh out of their commitments who just wanted to unwind with some good food. Ordering had taken a while because of how busy it was, but at least they'd managed to get seats at a table upon arrival.

"Yeah. I don't like going home to an empty apartment, but she works really late hours." Maya let out a low burp, and Lucas scrunched up his nose. She ignored him and burped again, longer and louder this time just to rile him up. If April saw her, she'd have her head. "I would have gone with Zay, but his mom is on her health kick."

"Yeah. I heard about meatless muck week." Lucas chuckled. "Welcome to my life every day."

Maya patted his hand consolingly, pretending to feel sorry him. "You poor thing. Your mom seems really strict."

"That's nothing on my dad. He was always hard on me. A real drill sergeant. And I mean that _literally_. He trains recruits."

Her brows lifted in a mix of surprise and horror. "That's intense."

"Tell me about it. He expected too much out of me. Restricted me from doing anything. And if I wasn't perfect, I would hear about it for days." Lucas' face twisted in irritation. "I couldn't stand living with him for one more year, so when my parents finalised the divorce, and Mom moved, I left with her."

"Sorry." Maya meant that sincerely. She didn't know what having a strict dad felt like, but she could understand being frustrated with authority figures who expected you to be nothing short of perfect. Hell, that would be her life one day if she chose to be the leader of Valderia. "But maybe he does it because he loves you and cares about you. He wants you to succeed, right?"

"…I guess," he muttered begrudgingly with a roll of his eyes.

"I wish I'd had that…" she mused, absentmindedly blowing air bubbles into her coke with her straw. "A dad who cared."

At Lucas' concerned look, she clarified her statement.

"They divorced when I was a younger. I never grew up with him."

"Had they been fighting a lot?"

It was a simple curiosity, no pity in his gaze, no pity in his tone. Just empathy coupled with a sense of understanding that made her not mind talking about it.

"Oh yeah, always. I used to stay up at night listening to them argue. Kept a tally of who said the worst things."

Of course, now, she understood what they had been arguing about when she didn't get it before. Hell, she'd be pissed off too if she found out her husband had lied about his entire identity and was actually the engaged king of some made up sounding country in the middle of Europe and that he had to leave her because he was shirking his responsibility and wasn't supposed to have a kid with her. If she ever decided to talk to her dad again, the first thing he would definitely be getting was a piece of her mind for piss poor judgement.

"My dad always won that game. He had a really colourful vocabulary. He once called my mom a scum sucking maggot who didn't deserve to clean the bunions off his grandmother's feet," Lucas commented in a slight joking tone, and Maya drew out of her thoughts when she realised Lucas had been speaking to her. "On the bright side, at least you didn't have to listen to them arguing for several more years after that."

"Yeah…"

It's not like she ever got the choice though since her dad decided to desert her and her mother before she even truly grew up. But knowing how crazy Katy and her life could have become if he'd decided to remain in power and take them to Valderia, Maya was beginning to think maybe it was better that he'd left. She understood the sense of urgency that he might have been feeling what with all the demands involved in ruling and life in the court.

"Who's this strapping young fellow?" Katy asked as she stopped by their table with a tray of piping hot food. "What's your name, hun?"

He smiled congenially. "Lucas Friar. Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am."

"And polite to boot." Katy put a hand on her heart in pretend shock. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Maya's mother, Katy. Cute boyfriend, Maya."

"If by boyfriend you mean a friend that's a boy, then absolutely. He's nothing else otherwise," Maya deadpanned as she narrowed her eyes at her mom. Katy winked at her.

Lucas laughed. "Ouch, shot down without a second thought. I didn't even get the chance to ask you out to begin with."

"It's not personal, Huckleberry." She gave him a narrowed eyed glare. "And don't enable my mom, please. She'll get _ideas_."

"Oh, so _you're_ five-texts-in-a-row Huckleberry!" Maya shot her mom another glare, but Katy ignored her as she set their dinner down in front of them. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"Just taking her out to dinner, ma'am." Lucas was chuckling to himself. "With your permission, of course."

Maya really didn't like this tag team tease Maya thing that was going on.

"Mom…" Maya growled in warning, raising a brow at Katy and daring her to keep messing with them.

"What? I was just kidding." Katy set a tray of onion rings on the table too. "Don't worry about the check or these onion rings, Lucas. It's on me."

"Thank you kindly, Ms. Hart."

"No, that's _my_ mom. Call me Katy."

"Will do," he said, tipping his baseball cap.

"You are such a dork." Maya snorted, nearly laughing at his hat tipping tendencies. He wasn't even wearing a cowboy hat, but she could honestly imagine one on his head. The action must have been unconscious by now.

"Maya, I picked up the overnight shift to help Donna. Her morning sickness was getting worse. I'll be back before you leave for school with some breakfast to go for you, but I won't be going home tonight," Katy said apologetically.

"That's okay, Katy," Lucas responded. "I can give her a ride home."

"Oh could you? You're so sweet." Katy grinned playfully. "He's a keeper, baby girl. Great job finding this one."

"Go away, Mom." Katy put her hands up while she walked off to serve another table, and Maya turned to pierce Lucas with the most threatening glare she could muster. "This encounter never happened."

Lucas whistled innocently before taking a bite of his tuna melt. "What encounter?"

"Good answer, boy."


	3. PART II

_"Donc, comment se passent tes études?"_

 _"J'ai trop de devoirs pour ces leçons, mais ne t'inquiète pas,"_ Maya said with a hint of sarcasm.

But it was true that having so much extra work for the lessons actually had pushed her to stay motivated, organised, and diligent in her school work. The price to pay was not having as much fun anymore, but on the bright side, she'd been turning in the best work she'd ever done in years. And the best part was she didn't feel stressed about finals for school looming after Christmas break at all.

"Excellent," April exclaimed, looking quite proud of Maya. "Sarcasm aside, your French is improving nicely. You've made such great progress, I will push forward your final examination to next week. We will begin with Dutch in a week's time, and we'll tack on Italian in March."

"Alright."

Maya was surprisingly in a good mood. She had a feeling it had a lot to do with Lucas, who'd given her a few more rides home that week while her mom worked long night shifts. Lucas paid for all their excursions, even when she wanted to go to the arcade. She didn't know why he had, but she sure as heck wasn't complaining. Not when hanging out with him had been so much fun this past week.

She didn't know what it was about Lucas but in the craziness of her life, he made her feel safe. He made her feel like she was just a normal girl. And although he was absolutely dorky, he was sweet and pleasant to be around, and he made her laugh. She was busy almost all the time, but he provided her with a necessary respite from her hectic life, especially since Zay had practices late at night and Missy usually was stuck entertaining her mom's drunk party friends and neither were available this week. All things considered, she hadn't felt stressed about being a princess in training in a long time.

"Hey April? How do you do that thing?" Maya asked as she stood stick straight, her posture nearly perfect and the encyclopaedia balanced properly on her head.

She looked up from the document she was reviewing. "What thing?"

"That nose thing where you're being such a snob, but I'm the one who feels like I'm unworthy of your presence."

"The Villavicci Burn, your Highness," Harper explained when April's brows furrowed in confusion.

April chuckled. "Oh that? I can teach you later. It's great for getting those particularly combative and argumentative nobles to know their place. A single look can pack a great punch. It was created by Lisanna Villavicci, an old ancestor of ours who was one of the founding members of our family. Story goes that a blacksmith was refused his pay by one of the rich dukes who requested a sword. He ran to Lisanna, then only thirteen, yet the lady of the manor, and she confronted the duke. She said no words, only intimidated him with her haughty look, and he backed down immediately. It's been passed on through multiple generations. I suppose it's about time you learned it as well. Perfecting it takes a few years. Best you get started now."

"Great!" Maya smiled.

She couldn't wait to use it to shut down the rude snobs at school. Honestly, these methods she was learning were great to apply to her daily life. She hadn't expected it, but learning how to be a princess was becoming surprisingly useful. There was a lot she still had to learn, but it was starting to become a highlight of every week.

There was nothing that could bring her mood down.

"Which is a great segue into our next topic: countenance and appearance."

Except that.

"Maya, you've vastly improved in poise and posture and walking in heels doesn't seem to trouble you any longer. You've done so well in all these aspects and have become remarkably elegant in some ways. So now it is time to combine them all. It is time we worked on your outer appearance and signature look, Maya. As a possible future monarch, it is imperative that you look the part and dress in professional, respectable attire. Your hair needs to be properly brushed and coiffed from now on. And those ripped jeans you are so fond of have got to go."

The one lesson Maya had been dreading like nobody's business.

She'd been hoping if she improved on all that etiquette crap that April wouldn't see it necessary for her to undergo any kind of makeover. Maya didn't want to look like a daffodil and she sure as hell didn't want to change her style. She didn't want to look anything like the Pops at school. It wasn't like she particularly cared too much about their opinions of her, but she was sure they would use it as an opportunity to make fun of her. Dressing like some princess would make her look like a try hard, and that was the last thing she wanted. Maya had her image and reputation to worry about.

"What?" Maya took the encyclopaedia off her head and tossed it on the couch. "Okay, that's a little extreme don't you think?"

"Not at all. All these other monarchs and authority figures, do you see them wearing ripped jeans?"

"No, but you talked about relating to the people and being able to uh…" She wracked her brain for something to say. "F-forge necessary connections with those you rule! Wouldn't I make a more relatable ruler if the people saw me as one of the gals? If I look too stiff or wealthy, they wouldn't be able to talk to me as easily."

"I'm glad you've been paying attention in your lessons." The smile on April's lips looked more like a smirk, and Maya knew she'd gotten caught in a trap. "But the more informal you appear, the less they will take you seriously. The ways to forge connections with your people is by helping the communities and striving to meet the needs of your people as best as you can. All while wearing professional, clean attire."

"But—"

"No buts. I've made up my mind." April snapped her fingers. "Harper contact Giuseppe Ronaldo and tell him to stop by ASAP with all the clothes from his new line, his team of makeup artists and hair specialists. I want a full styling salon and spa in my ballroom in thirty minutes!"

"On it."

Maya wanted to cry.

~.~.~

Half an hour, a hair wash, and two broken brushes later, and Maya really _was_ crying.

"Ouch! You're pulling too fucking hard!"

"Language, Maya." April tsked, though she was looking on with thinly veiled amusement.

"It's stuck. Hold still!" Giuseppe stomped his Gucci covered foot and huffed impatiently. His confused assistant just watched the turmoil with wide eyes. "Maybe if you took care of cat on your head properly, this wouldn't be issue. Look at your grandmother. Her hair is immaculate. _Immaculate!_ You know why? Because she brush her hair!"

"You're going to break my hair off!" She tried to hold on to her head, but Giuseppe pried her fingers off and continued his onslaught. "It's curly! You're not supposed to brush through it like that!"

"And so?" Giuseppe yanked the brush through another portion of Maya's hair. "You broke my brush, I break your hair."

"That makes no damn sense! Ouch!"

She could literally feel whole follicles being ripped out of her scalp!

"Maybe a chainsaw might work?" Harper suggested.

"What?!" Maya covered her hair with her hands again, and Giuseppe let out a deeply annoyed sigh. "No! _No_ chainsaw!"

"Relax, Maya. It was a joke." But Harper nodded at the confused assistant to go ahead with the plan.

"Harper!"

~.~.~

"What the hell is on your legs?!" Demetrius, one of Giuseppe's specialists cried out as he pointed a shaking finger at her. He looked like he was physically ill, and he had to hold on to the small table to keep himself upright. "Why do your legs look like one of those Wooly Willy toys?!"

"…It's hair?" Maya scoffed in offence. "What? You've never seen hair on someone's leg before?"

"That is not a leg!" He slammed his foot on a chair while pulling up a pant leg in one fell swoop. There was not one spec of hair on his perfect ebony skin, and it was shining, almost glittering in the light. Maya was pretty impressed. " _This_ is a leg! Touch my leg! Touch it!"

Maya reached out with a weird look on her face and stroked the smooth leg. It was perfectly shaven. But she didn't know why he was freaking out so much. Sure, the hair on her legs was visible, but it wasn't like she looked like a woolly mammoth. She just happened to have neglected shaving for a few weeks. It wasn't like anyone would see her legs in this cold weather anyway.

"I mean, it's nearly winter, and I wear knee highs with my uniform anyway, so I figured I didn't have to shave until spring."

"Spring?!" Demetrius gasped so loudly, so shocked by her declaration that Maya almost jumped out of her seat. "The _horror_! I am _appalled_! What in the world is wrong with you?! You have _Sasquatchlegs_ , and you're fine with it?!"

Maya sighed and rolled her eyes.

This was going to be a long day…

~.~.~

Maya gasped for breath when the corset tightened even more impossibly, choking her and making even drawing a single breath impossible. It was incredibly tight and pushing painfully against her spine and ribs, forcing her to stay completely straight backed to prevent the pain.

"Why are… you making… me wear… this, April?" she wheezed for breath, gripping the chair tightly as two assistants—Gertrude and Murielle—tugged the strings of the corset.

"Well our Independence Day traditions has the queen of the royal family dress up as Queen Pachyderm and reenact the day she bravely rode to battle and inspired the men to take up arms and fight the Italians. She did it in a huge dress and corset. So you must get fitted for a proper one.

"I can barely breathe in this thing!" Maya coughed, struggling to get her breath when they tied the string. "Just admit you're doing this because you think it's funny!"

"I am doing no such thing…" she muttered, her smile hidden behind the rim of her teacup. "Although it is unintentionally hilarious."

Giuseppe stepped back into the room and clapped his hands together. Behind him, a couple of women pulled a bellman dolly with fantastic clothes hanging from the racks. "Ladies, the outfits have arrived."

"Ooh, these are lovely!" April sat up and set her cup of tea back on the table.

"My newest collection. Never been worn by even models. Take your pick, your Majesty."

"I would like a few selections for her wardrobe that scream elegance and royalty, but also youth and sophistication," April explained, ticking off her fingers as she described the outfit she wanted for Maya. "Something that portrays her wild spirit, but remains appropriate for meetings with other dignitaries. Think vibrant, but classy."

"Of course." Giuseppe snapped his fingers sharply. "Gertrude, Murielle!"

"Yes sir," they said in unison, leaving Maya to go take care of choosing the outfits.

She nearly collapsed on the chair.

"Hey! You guys forgot to untie me!"

~.~.~

"I've never gotten my legs waxed before."

"That much is obvious," Demetrius stated. "But have no fear. It's faster than shaving, and when I'm through with you, you will look like a newborn baby, fresh from the womb."

She swallowed thickly as he took a stick and dipped it into a pot that looked like it had honey in it. He scooped out a generous serving and slathered it on the top of her calf until it was in a smooth, even layer.

"What's this orange gloop? Honey?"

"Not important. Just think of it as glue."

He put a strip of paper on her leg and patted it down until it was plastered to her skin and covering the glue. He then pulled up one corner and held it in his fingertips. Maya thought he would slowly peel it off, but his next words made the colour drain from her face.

"One fell swoop. It'll be fast, okay?"

"Wait!" she cried, her heart thundering. "Don't pull it off like—"

"Bite your tongue."

He ripped it off her leg.

~.~.~

In the main ballroom, Harper and April were getting their feet massaged when Maya's shrill scream burst through the room and echoed throughout for several seconds. The whole room grew quiet for several seconds as everybody stared at each other. And then a few seconds later, Demetrius stormed into the ballroom furiously, holding his bloody nose as he snatched up his coat. He was muttering obscenities as he hightailed his way out.

"Demetrius! Wait, don't leave!" Giuseppe pleaded.

" _That girl is a menace_!" He cried in a nasally voice. "You can finish her legs yourself! I will send you an invoice by the end of the week!"

"For your new nose, I suppose?" Harper drawled, barely holding back her laughter.

"How dare you?!" He screeched before storming out in a cloud of sharp cologne.

Even April couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing.

~.~.~

Maya sniffed the air. "Is my hair burning?!"

"That is smell of perfect coiffure, Princess," Gertrude explained.

" _Noooo_ , that's the smell of burning hair! How much heat are you putting on it?! I don't want it straight."

"We're not straightening your lovely curls. We're drying with blowdryer for less frizz. And _then_ I will straighten and _then_ I will curl again to redefine curl. But you must take proper care of hair. If you don't you get rat's nest syndrome."

"What's the point of blowdrying my hair and then straightening and then curling it? What a waste of time." It seemed like a whole lot of nonsense for something so unimportant. "Just curl it directly."

"You need crash course on hair, my dear." Giuseppe shook his head. "How in the world she acquire genes for curly hair? Villavicci descendants have very straight hair."

"The Rinollo side," April explained to Giuseppe, looking up from her book. "They gave her those caterpillar brows too."

"Hey!"

~.~.~

"What is this travesty?!" Murielle shrieked in her thick French accent. "Chipped nails, chewed down nails, paint in nails! These are hideous!"

Oh great… Another person freaking the hell out about something normal.

"Maya, I thought I told you to stop chewing them," April said sternly.

"Well when I have piles and piles of homework each night—most coming from you by the way—nervous actions tend to become habits."

"I suppose I could lessen your work load a bit," she mused. "You're a fast learner."

Maya tried to refrain from grinning. Having less work would be a dream come true.

April's eyes had a devious sparkle to them. "But then that means we'll be using more hands on assignments for things like etiquette lessons and you'll be doing far more application practice. So plenty more room for mistakes. And you know my punishments for mistakes."

Well that backfired spectacularly. "On second thought, the work load is fine."

"I can't work like this! She needs a full manicure."

Well, at least there was one silver lining in all of this.

~.~.~

Giuseppe approached Maya with his tweezers, a look of determination on his face.

"Maya, quit being drama queen and sit down!"

"No way! You stay the hell away from my eyebrows!" Maya jumped away from the chair, holding a bottle of hair spray as if it was pepper spray. "They're fine as they are."

"The sooner you sit, the sooner we can do makeup!"

"Why are you trying to assault Louis and Carl?!"

Harper snorted. "You named your eyebrows?"

Giuseppe snapped his fingers and before Maya realised it, Gertrude and Murielle took hold of her arms under her armpits and lifted her straight off the ground. She kicked her legs around in vain. The two women were almost six feet. There was no way she was getting free.

"Hey, what gives! Put me down! Where are you taking me?!"

"We're just cleaning up your caterpillars, Maya." Giuseppe tutted as he pointed out of the room and the women turned to lead her there. "No need to fret."

"No! I promise I'll be good! Harper! Help meeeeeeeee!" Maya cried out, reaching out to her bodyguard as she was dragged away.

~.~.~

Giuseppe finished tacking the papers onto her leg. Maya licked her lips nervously. Her legs and arms were strapped down on the examination table and she couldn't move at all. This was starting to seem like a scene from some terrifying horror movie.

"Now? We finish."

"You don't need to tie me up for this!"

"When your reflexes break nose of my best hair specialist, _yes_ , I do."

He ripped off the paper without prelude.

Maya saw white lights in her eyes.

~.~.~

"It took nearly three hours, _but_ , we finally succeeded. We have taken delinquent granddaughter, and turned her into… princess."

Giuseppe opened the doors, and Maya walked through, wobbling the slightest bit on her heels from her nerves, but otherwise still composed. Harper and April's faces looked aghast, though the sparkle in their gazes and the smile on their lips made Maya feel a surge of relief and a bit of confidence. She hadn't seen what she looked like at all yet, and she was a little scared but from the clapping from all the members of Guiseppe's team and from the way April was beaming proudly, Maya couldn't hold back the small smile on her face.

"Excellent, Maya. You look like a dignified ruler already."

"I am allowed to eat, right? Because dinner is coming up, and I'm pretty hungry."

"And ruin three hours of hard work?!" Giuseppe screeched in huge offence.

April ignored him. "Anything you want. Just don't wipe the grease off on your clothes like I know you do."

"Harper?" Maya asked, a little insecure about the way she looked. She wasn't used to all this nicety and she knew the bodyguard would tell it like it is.

Harper smiled proudly. "And to think, three months ago, you walked in here looking like roadkill."

"Harper, enough. Maya, you were never atrocious. We just needed a little bit of oomph to bring out the princess that has lain dormant inside your heart. Alright, walk across the room."

Maya did so though she felt a little wobbly. These were the highest heels she'd ever had to wear in all of her training, and they did take a little getting used to. She walked over to the large portable mirror and stood in front of it, staring at herself in awe.

From the beautiful coils piled on her head in a tasteful, articulate, messy updo, to the way her gold eyeshadow brought out the colour of her eyes to the makeup defining the features of her nose, lips, and cheekbones, to the formfitting, but regal gold dress, to the heels that highlighted her legs. She almost didn't recognise herself.

She looked… nice. Nicer than she'd ever looked before. And it still shocked her to see herself looking this way. She would never have imagined she could look like this. Maya had always just been the kind to throw on whatever she saw and head out the door. Who was this girl she was looking at?

The two women were smiling at each other when Maya turned back to face them. She didn't know what expression was on her face, but they both were nodding in approval.

"I think she's ready."

"I think she's ready too."

"This look will mess up my cred," Maya said in a halfhearted attempt to joke around. She felt a little out of sorts. She still couldn't believe that the girl she was seeing looking all dolled up was her. She'd never really worn makeup so this was unexpected. She couldn't tell whether she liked it or not either.

"I've been informed that tomorrow is a dress down day for school. Now, I want you to wear one of these outfits we picked up for you today instead of your usual ripped jeans and band t-shirt, understood? Harper will see to it that you remain dressed classy for the entirety of the day. Remember. You are regal and elegant. If you think of that the whole time, you will be invincible."

Maya turned and stared at her reflection again, nodding to herself. She really did feel invincible. Or like a new her.

Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad.

~.~.~

Was what she'd thought until she woke up that day for school and realised with a shock that she had to actually _go_ to school in her new appearance.

Maya had tried everything she could do to get out of going that day. Feigning the runs, pretending she had a cold, even trying to bribe her mom by promising all sorts of riches galore in Valderia if she let her miss school, but Harper had already informed Katy about Maya's requirement.

And that was that.

April had arranged for Giuseppe to appear at her house at the ass crack of dawn just to perfect her new look for that day. Her morning had been spent being primped and preened like some bird until he was finally satisfied with the fashionable dress he'd put her in, the sensible, but stylish heels, and her hair and makeup ready to go. And then Harper had arrived with April's driver to make sure she actually went inside the school building.

Maya dreaded the day like nobody's business. It was one thing to get a makeover around trusted people in a location where no one else would ever see her, but it was a whole other to present that look around school. Between then and now, Maya had seriously lost her nerve, and she just wanted to turn and run. Her hands were clammy and wouldn't stop shaking, and she wanted to go back home and hide under her covers. Never in her life had she ever felt so fearful.

"Harper, this is torture to the extreme."

"Maya, this is a test of confidence." Harper told her, her tone patient and gentle as she gave Maya's shoulder a soft squeeze. "When you're queen and walking down streets or in parades, _everyone_ will be watching you, judging you, measuring every physical aspect about you from your countenance to your behaviour to your clothes to your makeup to your hair to your accessories. And by everyone, I mean the world. This will help you get ready for that. We talked about this in a publicity lesson, remember?"

"I know but…" Maya looked down at herself. "I feel like a fake. This isn't me."

"Think about it like a performance. Behind closed doors, you're Maya Hart, ex-anarchist and delinquent, a girl who is just like any other. But out in public, you're Maya Dungworth, royalty, the princess. You can do whatever you want in your personal life, but in the eyes of the public, you must act and look the part of a dignified princess." Harper gave her a supportive smile. "You don't have to change yourself at all. If you like who you are, be yourself. You do however need to get used to dressing and looking like royalty and being the centre of attention. And that's what this whole makeover is about. Looking and acting the part, not changing yourself. You need training for that like this. Trust me. It's not easy being thrown into a new world where your every move is under scrutiny."

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "Okay… I understand."

"Atta girl. You'll be just fine," Harper said as she pulled open the door of the school and gestured for Maya to get in. "Remember, Maya. Walk straight and tall. Elegant, chin up, snobby-esque, but no conceit."

Maya took a deep breath and walked into the school with her back straight and chin raised to portray confidence. She didn't feel confident at all, but maybe if she pretended like she was confident, she might actually feel some semblance of confidence.

"I will see you this afternoon." Harper left to head for the teacher's lounge, and Maya was alone, left to walk through the crowded morning hall as people chatted and rummaged through their lockers.

Her heart was thundering in her chest as she walked, and she could feel eyes on her, judging her, watching her. As she trudged through the hallway, she half expected people to stare at her and point and laugh. Some people were staring alright, but to her surprise, there was no laughter or any sort of mockery. In fact, most just looked intrigued or dare she say, in awe. Maya licked her lips and continued on towards her locker, her sigh of relief almost all-encompassing.

Maisie Stewart and her friends stopped chatting as Maya started to walk by. She considered running past them as fast as possible. Usually, those girls paid her absolutely no mind when she walked by them in the morning. They usually acted like she didn't exist, but today, they were smiling at her, watching her with no contempt at all.

"Hey, your dress," Maisie said. "It's one from Giuseppe Ronaldo's new line, right? It looks cute on you."

"Uh yeah." Maya's eyes widened slightly at the compliment. "And thanks."

"No problem."

The girls went back to chatting with each other and Maya walked on, a small smile on her face as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She hadn't been expecting that at all. Maybe she'd overreacted about this whole makeover thing.

But she felt sheer relief when she turned the corner near the junior class' lockers and spotted Lucas clearly rushing to try to finish a reading assignment. Finally, someone she knew. She was stiff and awkward, but as she headed over to him, she could feel herself relaxing.

"You were wrong you know?" She stopped right next to him. "One time, you said you couldn't ever see me wearing a dress. But I have it on good authority that I look cute, so eat your words. I so can wear a dress."

He glanced at her as he took a sip from his water bottle and promptly choked on it. He coughed hard, whacking his chest to clear his throat. Maya swallowed thickly, almost nervous. She'd been expecting some sort of surprised reaction, but nothing this extreme. Did she look ridiculous or something? Is that why he was sort of having a freak out?

"Uh…yeah," he said lamely as he stared at her with an undecipherable expression on his face. "I… I guess you can."

"Uh Huckleberry? You're supposed to banter back. That's how it works." But he wasn't really saying anything else, and Maya started to feel self-conscious. Her cheeks slowly flushed with heat. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Sorry, it's just… you're… umm," he stammered, swallowing hard as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You uh… you look… good. Not that you don't always look good, but I mean, you look different good. Yeah, different. But still… good."

"Oh." Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she chewed on her lower lip when she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach for a second. What was with him? He was making her feel all bashful. "Thank you."

They stood there in awkward silence as Maya scuffed the floor with the bottom of her shoe every few seconds. She didn't know what to say anymore, and she couldn't figure out why Lucas was acting so weird.

She brought her gaze back up to his when he started to speak again. "Umm, so what's—"

"Oh my God, Maya!" Missy's voice suddenly cascaded sharply down the hall. "Is that you?"

Maya quickly averted her gaze while Lucas started to pretend to clean his locker. Zay and Missy came up to her and immediately started poking and prodding her and checking her out and making her spin in circles so they could take a look at her.

"Damn, Blondie. You clean up hella nice."

"Your hair is brushed! Look at this clothes! This is from Giuseppe Ronaldo's new line! How did you buy this dress? My mum doesn't even have it, and she stans him!" Missy tugged at the dress. "And your hair! And those shoes! I didn't even know you could wear heels! All this time, I could have been playing dress up with you as a doll."

Zay laughed. "What's with this makeover? You usually come to school on dress down days in jeans and your trusty boots. I like the new look, but I'm confused. You look like a Pop."

"I just felt like switching it up for one day." Maya lied, smiling uncomfortably at all the questions. The clothes were expensive, and there was no answer she could give on how she got this dress that Missy wouldn't find suspicious. Her friends knew she wasn't rich. It made no sense for her to be wearing clothes from a renowned fashion designer. "Call it a social experiment."

"Why?" Zay asked in confusion.

She was saved from responding when Josh passed by them in the hallway. Maya's breath caught and she straightened up quickly.

"Hey Josh," she said. "I'm really looking forward to the soccer game this weekend."

"Maya, right?" he responded, smiling charmingly as he paused in front of her. "We should hang out some time."

"…uh yeah." Maya tucked a stray piece of hair behind her hair, a slow goofy smile growing on her face as she chuckled a bit breathlessly. He'd said her name. He'd said her name! "I'd like that."

"See you around." He waved as he left.

"Yeah, see ya." She sighed happily.

Okay, screw her fears. This makeover was the best thing ever!

When she turned back to her friends, Lucas was frowning though, Zay looked unimpressed, and as usual, Missy's face was a cross between loathing and absolute disgust.

"Urgh gag me." Missy stuck her finger in her mouth in the fake motion for gagging. "This buttwipe gets your name wrong for two years, you change up your looks, and now all of a sudden he notices you? Tell me you didn't dress up like this to get Josh's attention."

The thought hadn't crossed her mind before, but maybe she should every once in a while.

"Isn't it great?" Maya's heart was thumping wildly in her chest. She would be replaying their conversation in her head all day. "He asked me to hang out!"

Lucas raised an incredulous eyebrow. "So you've actually got a crush on Josh. I thought Zay was joking."

It wasn't really a question, more of a statement, but Maya barely paid note to the fact that his tone sounded a bit dejected.

"Who doesn't?" Maya gushed. "He's so cute."

"I don't." Missy's nose wrinkled in disgust. "He seems like he's a real jerk."

"Not a jerk." Maya corrected. "A jerk with a heart of gold. A misunderstood bad boy."

Zay rubbed the back of his neck, giving Lucas an apologetic look. "I guess some girls like that kind of thing."

"A _bad boy_? At this school?! Puh- _lease_!" Missy scoffed mockingly.

"He is a bad boy! He's got that bad boy, rebellious spirit."

"Yeah because the preppy son of a six figure salary family who has everything he could ever want and is dropped off at school with a _butler_ is a bad boy," Missy drawled sarcastically. "The only bad boy thing he's probably ever done is skip class to make out with someone under the bleachers."

"You've got weird taste, Maya." Zay was also looking decidedly sickened.

"I don't! Back me up here, Lucas. They're ganging up on me," Maya said, nudging Lucas whose expression was a bit put out, like he was in deep thought.

"Yeah… umm, I've gotta go print out a paper. See you guys later." He shut his locker and left without waiting for a response, his face still holding that disgruntled expression.

"…What's up with him?" Maya asked.

Zay gave her an 'are you kidding me' look. "You seriously don't know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I did, now would I?"

"Miss Hart and Co. Homeroom is about to begin." Harper walked past them with her briefcase, though she gave Maya a discreet little smile and wink. "Stop dawdling in the hall, please."

As they headed to the sophomore homeroom, they walked by a group of senior guys. One of them smiled at her, and Maya tossed her hair a bit, a giddy little grin on her face. Maya had been scared at first because she was out of her element, but all the positive reactions had actually made her feel good for once. She felt confident, less unstable and awkward about the way she looked, and the attention was kind of nice. It was fun. She was usually ignored every day, but it was like suddenly people at school knew who she was or were trying to get to know her. Especially Josh.

Missy's brows furrowed as she pierced her with a death glare. "You're not going to let this attention get to your head are you?"

"Relax guys. It's just a little makeover. I know who my real friends are."

"Good. I thought we would have to lock you up in a locker or give you a mega wedgie to get you back to our normal loser status."

"No locker antics necessary." She assured them. Changing her looks didn't change who she was as a person. Though she was really enjoying this attention she was getting. It was nice to be noticed sometimes. "I know who I am."

"Alright. Threat still stands though, Maya." Zay left for his row up at the front once they got to the upstairs gym room.

"Hey, can you come over on Monday?" Missy asked before Maya could head over to the H's. "Tricia's bringing over a 'family friend' for dinner she wants me to meet. That's code for _boy_. I need you as a buffer so he'll focus on you. Plus with this new look, I'm sure it'll keep her off my back while she's gushing about your clothes. What do you say? You get filet mignon~"

"I can't. I'm busy," Maya said apologetically.

"Please? It's just… it's going to be a hard week for me since it's the anniversary of the week I lost my real mum. Tricia's going to make it worse. You always help me when she gets in her matchmaking kick."

Maya felt horrible. "I know, I'm sorry, but Monday really isn't going to work."

April was adamant about Maya skipping any lessons. She said the minute Maya didn't show up, she would not be lenient. She didn't need someone who wasn't dedicated. And Maya was actually starting to enjoy it. Sure, April was demanding and she was harsh and stern, but she was also just kind of misunderstood and all this time spending together was fun. The better Maya improved, the more relaxed April became and she liked to crack jokes every once in a while that were actually funny. Maya was starting to think that maybe April wasn't just a harsh, uptight woman.

"I really need your help with this, Maya." Missy pleaded, her shoulders slumping a bit. "You know I would never ask for your help if I didn't think I needed it. Is there any way you can show up at all? Even for a few seconds?"

Maya rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "Missy, I really wish I could be there for you, but I already have family plans I can't miss on Monday."

They fell silent, standing there unsure of what to say next.

Missy's lips pursed, but she sighed. "Fine. Forget it."

"Missy—"

"No, it's all good. I'll see you later."

Maya stopped her from leaving by taking hold of her elbow before she could walk away. "You're doing that thing where you're mad at me. What's up?"

"Have you noticed, Maya, that recently every time I want to hang out or call you, you're always _busy_? No other excuse. Just _busy_. I'm not going to get weird about it because I know you and your mum are working on your relationship, but it's starting to feel a lot more like you're snubbing me. Even Zay has no possible excuse for your frequent absences, and he has an excuse for _everything_."

"I'm not snubbing you. I just have a lot of things going on that coincide with your plans."

"I'm aware, but you keep…" Missy shook her head. "You know what? It's really fine. Let's just go to our seats before those demerit junkies start doling them out."

Maya felt horrible about it, but Missy had shrugged off the conversation and from the way her brow was slightly raised in irritation, Maya knew it was a subject she didn't want to talk about anymore. She wasn't happy with Maya at all, but there was nothing Maya could do about that situation.

She was taking this princess thing seriously, and that meant being dedicated to lessons. Even though she still didn't think of herself as princess material, April seemed to have a lot of faith in her, and deep down—no matter how hard to admit—Maya knew that she was starting to believe that maybe she could make this happen.

~.~.~

"Maya, you really ought to do something today other than loaf about like a lump," Katy said as she poked her head through the door. "I'm getting ready to go to work. But it's Saturday evening. Go out and have fun with your friends."

Her mom was right. Maya didn't really have anything to study for at the moment, and she'd been lounging around on her bed all day, wasting her time on her phone in boredom. She didn't quite feel like studying, Missy had pretty much been MIA, and Zay had extra practices. Maybe Lucas might be free. He'd been kind of odd yesterday, and she wondered if she should call to check on him.

Thankfully, he picked up, and she was pretty relieved he had. "Where are you right now?"

"Uh, cleaning up our living room. My mom is having dinner guests over in a few."

"Oh…" Maya was a little disappointed. "So you're busy then?"

"No, these are her workmates. She told me to get lost for tonight." He chuckled. "I'm free."

"I am too. And I'm really bored."

"Well… I didn't have any real plans, but do you want to come with me to a batting cage?"

"Is baseball the only thing ever on your brain? Well that and your good ol' country farm and hoedowns." Maya smiled, happy that the awkwardness from Friday was pretty much gone. "But seriously. You had gruelling workouts this whole week, and you still want to do more?"

"It's a good pastime." She could just hear him rolling his eyes in amusement. "You should come with."

"I've never swung a bat before."

"First time for everything. It's not too hard to learn. I'll teach you."

It did sound kind of fun. "…okay."

"Alright, I'll pick you up in half an hour."

"Alright. See you soon."

Maya hopped out of her bed and ran to her bathroom to fix herself up. Giuseppe had left some of his makeup with her, and April had encouraged her to use some free time to get more used to the prospect of wearing makeup, but Maya wasn't planning on wearing it when she hung out with Lucas. It felt disingenuous somehow. And she still saw the whole makeover thing as only necessary for being Princess Maya Dungworth. But she didn't need to be that with Lucas. And quite frankly, she didn't really want to be that around Lucas either.

By the time she had finished washing her face and had pulled on her usual ripped jeans and baggy sweater, Lucas had texted her that he was waiting outside. She grabbed a bag and some money just in case, her coat, and was heading out in record time.

"Mom, I'm going out with a friend!" Maya called out from the doorway.

"Stay safe!" Katy called back from her room.

Once she got downstairs and had greeted Lucas, they were off.

"No fancy duds today?" he remarked casually about ten minutes into the trip.

"I told you that was a social experiment. I'll take combat boots, ripped jeans, and band tees any old day," Maya said. "But it did feel nice to get some extra attention."

"Oh." His brows furrowed. "Well why were you experimenting?"

"Umm…" Damn, she should have figured out some sort of excuse the day before. "I just wanted to see how living life as the opposite of Maya Hart would go. My mom and I sometimes do crazy things like that. Like, instead of acting like the screwball she is, she made good choices. And instead of being rough, I classed it up. You know, we both did it as a bet against each other that we couldn't handle being our opposite selves all day."

When she glanced at Lucas' face, he looked like he didn't know how to respond to her. Great, now she'd rambled and made a total idiot of herself.

"That's odd…" Lucas chuckled. "But whatever floats your boat."

They spent the rest of the ride chatting amicably about how much work teachers had been giving them now that the term would be coming to a close in less than a month. Maya was definitely ready for her term finals, but Lucas wanted some more study time so they planned a little get together with Zay, Billy, and a bunch of others over the break so all of them could work on reviewing and understanding material.

By the time they got to the batting cage, a small little place attached to a huge arcade and laser tag arena, the sun had begun to set. Inside the place, it was bright and neon and electric. There were quite a handful of people in the arcade, and a few at the batting place, but not enough that they couldn't head to the counter immediately.

"Back so soon again, Lucas?" the guy at the counter asked as he read his magazine, his feet kicked up on the table. "Why don't you go to parties and get hammered like normal teens?"

Lucas snorted. "I brought a friend, Jerry. Is the forty open?"

"Yeah." The man saluted Maya in greeting and then went back to reading his magazine. "Knock yourselves out."

"You're already on a first name basis?" Maya followed Lucas as he headed through the glass doors separating the lobby from the cages. There were some other people in a few of the ones further down goofing off and laughing, and one man who was whacking away at the balls, but otherwise, it was fairly empty. "Didn't you move here a little over a month ago?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I come here a lot. It's a good way to work on being able to master any different speeds of pitches. It's my go to relaxation spot. But you should be glad. Most newcomers have to go through a crash course training session with Jerry and watch that 90's safety video. But since he knows I'm trustworthy, he's not making you do it."

"Ah, the benefits to being your friend. Free rides and skipping lectures."

They grabbed helmets and bats, and Lucas went to buy a tokens. He led her to the slowest cage at the far end for newbies.

They walked into the cage, Maya heading to the batting area while Lucas went behind the glass screen to operate the pitching machine. Maya took a few random fake swings. "So how do you do this? I've never played before."

"Right or left handed?"

"Right."

"So stand on the left box. Feet a little wider than shoulder width, keep your body and head level. Most of the weight should be on the balls of your feet and bend your knees a little." He showed her the form. Maya tried to emulate it, though a lot of the instructions kind of went over her head. It was a lot to think about at once. "Yeah, sort of like that. Don't worry too much about form though. You're not here for legit practice."

"How do you swing to whack the ball to the sky?"

Lucas snorted. "Well for one, you have to be able to _hit_ the ball first. It's harder than it looks. Okay, try to hold the bat like I am, and I'll tweak stuff."

Maya shifted her stance and tried to copy what he was doing, but she couldn't really tell with all the nuances. She felt like she was twisted up like a pretzel, and she wondered if she was so far off base.

"Yeah, that's actually not bad." Lucas walked out of the little machine operating booth and came behind her, wrapping his arms partially around her to rotate her hand position and lower her elbow. "Your knuckles should be lined up and your elbow doesn't need to be this high." Then he placed his hands above hers as he moved her arms closer to her ear. He guided her hands through a slow practice swing. "Turn your body with the swing. For now, your bat should be parallel with the ground and make sure you follow through all the way. When you swing, keep your eyes on the ball all the way until the point of contact. Don't look at your bat."

Maya reset and took a few more slow swings again with Lucas, feeling like she was starting to get the hang of it. Though the barrage of instructions was making her brain spin.

"Am I doing it right?"

"Yupp. It's just like that," he said, his voice low and almost directly in her ear.

A shiver went down Maya's back when she could feel his breath softly tickling her ear. She was suddenly very aware of their proximity and his body heat. Slowly, she glanced at him over her shoulder. Their eyes met, and they both froze, staring at each other slightly wide eyed. Maya's pulse picked up immediately. They were so close she could see the flecks of gold in his irises. Her face started to burn.

Almost immediately, Lucas cleared his throat, let go of her, and stepped away as if he didn't realise what he'd been doing. "…Sorry."

"It's fine…" Maya stared at her hands holding the bat, feeling a little disappointed for some reason.

He cleared his throat again. "Do you want to give it a try now?"

Maya nodded and Lucas walked back into the operating booth to start the machine. He put the token in and then pushed the green 'Go' button. The machine whirred slowly to life, make a slight racket as the engine warmed up. Maya let out a long breath and set her position up just as Lucas had shown her. The machine shot out a yellow ball. Maya kept her gaze on it, narrowing her eyes and started swinging. She was surprised when she actually made contact with the ball and it went back towards the machine, bouncing along the ground.

"Oh my gosh. I actually hit it!"

She heard Lucas laugh somewhere behind her and then reset herself for the next ball coming up. She missed a couple of them from swinging too early or late, Lucas gave her some tips, and she reset again to get it right. It was a lot of fun, and the more she hit the balls, the more relaxed she felt, the more energetic she felt. Her swings felt a little more confident and soon, she wasn't missing the majority of them.

When she'd finished the last of the balls in the round, the machine cut off.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucas asked her as he walked out of the operating booth.

She frowned. "Huh?"

"You've looked pretty stressed since I met you; I figured this would be some good stress relief for you. I know you've got a lot going on or something."

"It helped. Thanks." And she meant it.

She smiled up at him, and he returned it. They stood there for a few seconds, staring at each other. The moment was only broken when two drunk people walked into the cage areas laughing loudly as they flirted. Lucas broke eye contact and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You can set this to auto. Just press and hold the green button and it'll go by itself."

"Okay."

They spent most of the evening batting. He'd given her half the tokens and then went into the cage next to hers. When her arms got sore, they called it a night and walked around the arcade, looking at some of the games and trying to figure out which ones were the biggest wastes of money. They came upon a claw machine—which Lucas had an uncanny knack for—filled with short baseball headed smiley men wearing pinstripe Yankees uniforms and caps, and he won one for her. She was smiling the rest of the night.

Before she knew it, they were already back in his car and driving to Nighthawk at her request, Maya tinkering with his ancient radio to find something worthwhile to listen to while Lucas kept swatting her hand away to cut it out before she broke his stereo. He stopped in front of the diner and put the car on park as Maya grabbed the stuffed toy and her bag to leave. She shut the door and leaned into the window.

"Thanks for bringing me to the batting cage. Never realised I needed it until now."

"No problem. If you ever need to release some stress, I can take you there whenever you want. Just hit me up."

Maya nodded. "I'd like that a lot. Thanks. Goodnight Lucas."

His brows raised in surprise. "Wait, did you just call me _Lucas_?"

Crap.

She pretended to clear her throat heavily, as if she'd gotten interrupted by an itch. "I wasn't finished. Goodnight, Lucas… _The Good_."

He rolled his eyes, though there was a knowing smirk on his lips that made her chew her bottom lip to hide her growing smile. "It's an improvement from Heehaw or Hopalong at least. See you on Monday."

He waved as he drove off to go home. As she turned to head inside the diner, Maya couldn't help the bounce in her feet. She felt super giddy, and she was sure that her grin wouldn't ever leave her face.

What was it about Lucas that always lifted her mood, no matter how she was feeling?

~.~.~

Maya walked into April's office in the embassy, hoping she wouldn't get chewed out for being a little late. She couldn't help it. She'd had to go to the school's office to discuss her scholarship money for the next term, but she had told Harper she'd take the subway and then a taxi the rest of the way to get to the lesson. Harper was standing in the middle of the room in a sports bra and some training sweatpants. But April was nowhere to be seen. Aside from the fact that April wasn't there, Maya didn't think she'd ever seen Harper in anything other than leather, so it was quite the surprise to see her dressed down this way.

Even more surprising were the rippling ab muscles Harper was showcasing and the nice cut of her arms, showing off perfectly sculpted biceps.

Gosh, this woman was so cool.

"Where's April?" Maya asked in confusion as she set her school bag down beside the legs of the desk. "She's missing a prime opportunity to bite my head off."

"Had impromptu business to take care of. It's my lesson of choice today."

"So what's on the agenda? How to intimidate people?"

"Close." Harper chuckled as she started stretching her left arm. "Avoiding threats, managing threats, security, paparazzi, and if push comes to shove defending yourself. You have your gym clothes in your bag, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Put them on. I'm going to teach you some techniques for real threats to your safety. Proper self-defence is a necessity when you're famous."

Maya couldn't believe her luck. "Wait, what?"

"These different techniques I'll be teaching you have their roots in five different styles." Harper switched to stretching her other arm. "Wing Chun, Vovinam, Shotokan, Aikido, and Judo. I'm not going to be lenient, but I trust you can handle it."

Maya grinned. "Hell yeah!"

Maya had changed in no time and before she knew it, she was in the throes of learning some reliable techniques for protecting herself. In a lesson curriculum full of girly etiquette shit and other things Maya found kind of annoying, this was beyond a breath of fresh air. She didn't really like exercising, but this was actually a ton of fun, no matter how many times Harper mopped the floor with her. Maya learned some pretty practical and valuable stuff. Stuff she definitely found more useful than something like where each utensil is supposed to go for a huge dinner.

"Remember Maya," Harper said as she lightly pressed a knee into Maya's back with her arms locked behind her, "when you disable a threat, the next step is to make sure they are no longer in your range, and then get away from the threat. I know it might be tempting to make someone eat dirt or curb stomp them, but your first job is to get to safety. Safety first, got it?"

"Aye aye, Captain." Maya laughed a bit as she panted for breath. If all lessons had been like this, she would never have been hesitant to come to them. "Uh, mind getting off my back now?"

"Oh, this is just perfect." April suddenly walked into the room with a joyful smile. She was covering the bottom of the receiver of her cellphone with her hand. "Maya, I was speaking to an associate of mine from years ago, Stuart Minkus."

Her eyes widened. "Stuart Minkus?!"

April knew the head of Minkus Tech? He was one of the most famous men in the country, widely renowned for his genius nanorobotics and biotech which had become extremely beneficial in advancing medical practices at the cellular level. But then again, Maya didn't know why she was so surprised considering her grandmother was a queen. Of course she knew famous people.

"And I, along with many other government officials and important people in society, have been cordially invited to his formal winter gala on the 22nd! This is splendid! You will come with me as a plus one."

It was _far_ from splendid.

Maya's skin ran cold. That was the date Missy had set for her annual Secret Santa Party. Maya had already made plans to go to Missy's party since the year before. She'd promised Missy she would make it; she couldn't just cancel on her all of a sudden.

"I can't go."

"Why not? This is no time to be scared. We won't reveal that you're a princess, just that you are a distant relative who is interning for me," April said with a frown as Harper helped Maya get to her feet. "You must go. This is a perfect opportunity to rub elbows with other high officials and to learn firsthand the art of schmoozing. You can apply what you've learned so far at this banquet. I am including it as an impromptu additional lesson."

Maya brushed the dirt off her t-shirt and shorts. "You don't understand, April. I _can't_ go to the banquet; I already had plans. My friend is hosting her annual party and—"

"Maya, I admire your loyalty to your friends, but part of being a ruler is knowing when to make sacrifices for the sake of your nation." April shut down her hesitations swiftly, her no nonsense tone brooking no argument. "This is something you are not allowed to miss. I won't repeat myself. Tell your friend you cannot make her party."

"Wait, but April—"

"End of discussion." She left the room again, returning to her conversation on the phone.

Maya groaned as her stomach twisted into anxious knots. She was already walking on thin ice with Missy for all the excuses she'd had to make for ditching her. She only hoped this wouldn't screw things up for them. This princess training was really taking over her life. How was she supposed to tell Missy that she suddenly couldn't make the party when they'd been planning it for so long?

Why did it always feel like when one aspect of life was going well, some other always started to go bad?

~.~.~

"And then I got a hit in on Harper's shoulder! I know it probably doesn't sound impressive when she pretty much beat me one hundred to one, but that woman has no openings, it's not even funny. I can see why she's the head of security." Maya continued. "It was a lot of fun! April said I could formally add it to my training curriculum starting next term."

"Serves Harper right…" Katy muttered as she changed the channel on the TV yet again. There was nothing to watch and on her day off, her mom was totally slacking and being a bum. She was still in her jammies. "Rodger and Karim. What a joke."

Maya laughed. "Mom? You really need to get over that. It's not that big a deal."

"She had the nerve to text me the number of moments Rodger and Karim had versus Rodland just after Chantal Lyles released her new book and in the process, spoiled a handful of plot points! I'll get over it when I damn well please!"

"Have fun with that stupid grudge." Maya patted Katy's shoulder as she got up to go to her room. "I'm gonna go shower and then head to bed early."

"Oh yeah, Maya? Zay called me earlier to ask where you were."

Maya spun around with a soft gasp. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Relax. If he didn't know where you were, I knew that meant he didn't know about the lessons and your situation." Katy waved her off. "I said you were running an errand for me and would be back in the evening. He's expecting to talk to you. Don't forget to call him back tonight."

"Right."

Maya hadn't looked at her phone since school ended that day. April tended to get annoyed if she had her phone and besides, today's lesson was so fun she hadn't had the urge to get her phone at all.

She headed to her room to grab her bag. When she checked her phone, Zay had called her three times in three different hours before leaving her two texts. One telling her not to call him back since he was studying in the library with Lucas. The other asking her if she'd talked to Missy that day.

Her heart nearly stopped for the second time that day. Why would he ask if she'd talked to Missy? Did he know about the banquet being on the same day as Missy's party? How could he? It didn't make any sense, but she could hear a ringing in her ears and was frightened that maybe he'd found out in some inexplicable way.

Holding her breath, she sent him a reply.

 _about what?_

It took about five minutes, but he finally responded.

 **From: BLABineaux**

 **About her dinner with her mom, Maya. That was yesterday night.**

Maya let out a small sigh of relief, but then she immediately cringed when she realised what that meant. She'd completely forgotten about that. No wonder Missy hadn't bothered showing up to school that day. Maya hadn't texted her at all yesterday, and she was probably really upset from the dinner. It'd been a whole day, and Maya hadn't contacted Missy at all.

 _shit… i'm a horrible friend. i completely forgot_

His answer was immediate this time.

 **From BLABineaux**

 **Yeah, clearly. She needs you right now. So can you call her?**

Maya called Missy, biting her lower lip and mentally apologising to her friend. She'd been neglecting her friendships with both Zay and Missy. They were probably pretty irritated with her, but she didn't know how to fix that. Her schedule didn't work out with her friends' anymore.

Missy didn't answer the first time. Maya knew her phone was on because it rang to full term before she was sent to voicemail, and Maya knew Missy's phone was practically glued to her hand at all times. She was purposely ignoring Maya. So Maya kept hanging up and calling again and again and again. It wasn't until about the twentieth time that the call finally connected.

 _"So Maya Hart does exist?"_

The comment was in monotone, devoid of any emotion, and Maya winced. Missy was angry at her.

"Missy. I'm sorry."

 _"I know you're sorry. You wouldn't call me twenty times in a row if you weren't."_

"I didn't mean to forget to check on you or call."

 _"Nearly two nights in a row? Zay had to remind you. Need I remind you he's one of the most forgetful people in the whole world?"_

"I've been…" Maya tapered off with a sigh. She'd given Missy the busy excuse too many times that it felt like it'd be wrong to say this time.

 _"Busy, right?"_ Missy said. _"Busy doing what_ this _time?"_

It was hard to glean her tone.

"Just stuff, anyway, I meant to call you last night, but—"

 _"You didn't. Because you forgot."_

Maya's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry."

Missy sighed after an extended period of silence where Maya held her breath. _"Look, I get it. Whatever is going on in your life is keeping you seriously occupied day in and day out. You don't have to call me if you don't have the time, but could you at least drop me a text? Tell me you don't have free time before and won't be available to text or call at all so I'll stop thinking you're ignoring me on purpose."_

"I'm sorry," Maya said again, feeling stupid. It felt like these days all she was doing was a lot of apologising to people she cared about. "How did the dinner go?"

 _"It wasn't so bad. I invited Yindra, and she helped a lot. Her dad apparently does stuff like that too sometimes even though she's dating Jade right now."_

"Yindra?" The name rang a bell, but Maya couldn't quite place the face of the person.

 _"She's in my Algebra class."_

"Right."

 _"Mmhmm."_

Maya could tell Missy was still at least partially angry at her. She was being stiff with her conversation. When Missy wanted to talk, she never shut up. So for her to be so tightlipped with her conversation meant Maya still hadn't made it up to her yet.

"So… what's been going on with you?"

 _"Just planning my party. Do you need an invite so you can remember the date and time or are you good with word of mouth?"_

Maya felt like banging her head against a wall. "About that…"

 _"You can't go."_

It was a statement, not a question, and one that had been said in a carefully blank tone. Maya was hanging by a thin thread and if she didn't have a really good reason, Missy was probably going to tell her to fuck off.

"Yes, but it's because my mom and I are going further upstate to spend Christmas with some estranged relatives this year." It wasn't a total lie. April _was_ a fairly estranged relative and the party _was_ upstate. Her mom would be working that evening, so she wasn't a factor in the plans, but it was close enough. She just didn't want to be in the red zone with Missy anymore. She didn't want to fight with one of her best friends. "I'm going to be out of town. And I definitely would rather come to your party, but these are people I haven't seen for most of my life and my mom thinks it's important to forge some connection with them before it's too late."

 _"Okay,"_ Missy replied simply.

"Okay? You're not mad, are you?"

 _"I am annoyed, Maya, but you're spending time with your mum. You both need this since you've been fighting more than usual, right?"_

"Uh, right…" She and her mom had never gotten along better. Maya felt bad about misleading her, but if Missy's misunderstanding would help them get back on the right track, she wasn't going to correct her mistake.

 _"It's going to suck without both my best friends here, but I'm glad you've been spending all this time together recently to mend things. Make no mistake though, you're making this up eventually to me."_

"Of course." Maya didn't feel good at all that Missy was fine though. To get to that point, she'd had to lie to her best friend. "How about I come over with ice cream right now?"

 _"…Be here in ten minutes."_

~.~.~

"Best part of the dinner was when my mum asked Bobby if he recently got out of a relationship, and he told her his boyfriend broke up with him a week ago." Missy snickered. "Both our mum's faces turned so red I almost died laughing."

Maya laughed as she scooped some more ice cream from the bin and fed a spoonful to Missy. "Sounds eventful."

Missy dipped the nail polish brush in the liquid and started painting Maya's free hand with the royal blue. "Would have been more eventful if you were there to make her day even worse."

"And face the wrath of your stepmother talking down to me like an uncivilised waste of space?" Maya frowned. "No thanks, lady."

"Contrary to what you might believe, Tricia actually really likes you."

"Are you being sarcastic right now?" Maya was really confused.

Missy shook her head, though her lips curved up into a smirk. "Compared to how she treats everyone else? You get star treatment."

"There's so many things wrong with that sentence." Missy's stepmother treated Maya like something akin to a dead cockroach that'd been stomped on and kicked to a corner.

"There. Fingernails painted," Missy said as she set Maya's free hand down and capped the bottle. "Your hands are looking much better than they usually do. No hangnails and your fingernails don't have grit in them. I see you're finally taking my advice."

Not so much Missy's advice as a forced requirement by her grandmother…

They fell silent as they lounged on her patio, relaxing in the slightly warmer breeze that night and watching as cars drove down the street to get to their destinations. It was calm and peaceful, and Maya felt really relaxed. Maya had been so caught up in her complicated life that she'd missed simple things in her life like hanging out with her friends like this and catching up with each other's lives. It really had been a long time. Giving this up must have thrown her off. No wonder Missy was disgruntled with her behaviour.

"Hey Missy…" Maya turned her head to look at her to find Missy watching her carefully. "I'm really sorry about how I've been acting. Like _really_ sorry. I can't promise I won't be busy still, but I'll do much better in letting you know ahead of time when I'll be busy."

"Good." Missy finally smiled, a genuine one that relieved Maya. "I accept your apology, Maya."

"If you need to stay at my place this week for any reason at all, just stop by after eight, and I'll be there." She would be tired, but she would do her best to keep Missy entertained and away from thoughts of her life.

"Thanks. I think I'll be fine since my pop's coming back from London tomorrow."

"Alright."

"Yeah, so enough with the apologies." The twinkle in Missy's eyes that she always got when they gossiped was back. "Besides, I need all the dirt about Lucas and Riley."

That caught Maya's attention. "What?"

Missy stared at her like she was an idiot. "You don't know? They're both in Film as an elective and they're in the same group to make a short film for their final project. They've been spending a lot of time together and some people think they'll end up together because of this."

"Oh…"

Maya's brow furrowed a bit in irritation. That was the first time she'd heard anything about that at all. She'd never seen Lucas around Riley or vice versa. Where was this coming from? Lucas hadn't mentioned anything like that when they'd hung out on Saturday.

"How do I know more about this than you? I missed school today."

"I guess I haven't exactly been paying attention to things happening around school lately."

"Well you're certainly oblivious, Scrub. You know what, just tell me _everything_ that happened at school today." Missy's expression was marred by her lips curled in disgust. "Oh, except about Josh. Leave that shit stain out of your report."

Maya laughed, linking her arm with Missy and leaning her head on her shoulder.

~.~.~

The week had passed by uneventfully. April had spent most of her lessons doing crash courses on etiquette to prepare her for the dinner/banquet/gala thing at the Minkus mansion. Friday was supposed to be a waltz lesson, but Maya had forgotten Harper had told her on Wednesday that she and April would be at a diplomatic meeting and that the lesson would be cancelled.

By Friday, Maya had completely forgotten about the cancelled lesson, and it wasn't until Harper was leaving work that day that she'd reminded Maya that she needed to practice the waltz or risk embarrassing herself and having April breathe fire through her nose in fury.

And _now_ she was freaking out.

The school day was over, break was starting after this, and she hadn't had any time to review or practice.

When she saw Zay fumbling with something in his locker, she wasted no time in catching him before it was too late.

"Zay!" She skidded to a stop beside him. "Thank God you're still here!"

He grinned. "I thought you would have been the first to get out of school now that we're on vacation, Blondie. You usually are."

"Zay, I need to practice the waltz. And I need your help." It was no secret that Zay was one of the best—if not _the_ best—dancers at their school. He'd been trained in classical dance for most of his life as well, so she didn't doubt he'd be able to help her with this.

He snorted. "I'm not even going to ask why."

"Look, I got clearance from Ms. Kossal that I can use the art room to practice this afternoon, but I can't do it on my own, and I forgot a lot of the more complicated basics. I just need a good hour, and I'll be fine. Please help me. If you want money, I will pay you."

"With what money?" He joked, raising a brow. "It's not that serious, Maya. I'd do it for free because we're friends."

"You'll help me?" She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight. "You're the best, Zay."

"Well…" Zay had a suspicious twinkle in his eyes that made her think he was plotting something. "I myself can't help you. I've got to run an errand for my mom, _buuuuut_ , I've definitely got you covered. Go wait in the art room. Your help will be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks a bunch, Zay!" Maya called out as she ran back down the empty halls of the academy to wait in the art room.

She didn't know what he meant by having her covered, but it was better than nothing. Zay was always reliable when it counted.

(Though sometimes he was equally just as _unreliable_ too when it counted).

Once in the room, she waited a bit restlessly, sitting on a stool and tapping her foot impatiently as she glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes couldn't come fast enough.

But exactly fifteen minutes later, the door groaned open with a click, and Lucas walked in looking a little frantic. He saw her and froze in place, and Maya felt a fluttering in her stomach when their gazes locked.

"…Where's Zay?" he asked slowly, suspiciously.

"…Not here?" she responded playfully in the same suspicious tone. "Clearly."

Lucas looked utterly confused. "Zay told me to come here in no more than fifteen minutes because he needed my help with something."

And Maya realised immediately what her friend had done.

"I asked Zay for some quick help practicing the waltz," Maya explained with a sigh. "He said he had it covered and for me to wait here. I guess you're the person he meant when he said covered."

"Oh, well that makes sense." He rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. "Don't tell anyone, but I learned how to waltz at my primary school cotillion."

"That's normal. I think pretty much everyone at this school has been in some sort of cotillion." Even Maya, although she would argue hers was well overdue since she had to do it now.

"Not that." He grimaced a bit. "I was forced to take lessons by my granddad until I moved here. It was just because it helped with my balance and flexibility which came in handy for football and baseball."

Maya snorted, laughing hard at the revelation. " _Okay_. That dirt is way too good not to use as blackmail one day."

"Should have known you would say that," he muttered, though he was trying hard not to smile. "Why do you need to practice the waltz, anyway?"

"My uh, my mom wants to learn…" she lied.

Lucas didn't look like he believed her but he nodded nonetheless and gestured for her to come over. Maya pulled up a waltz playlist and set it to play one song. She stood up in a bit of trepidation as music filled the room and walked over until she was standing in front of him. She suddenly felt pretty jittery, and Lucas' odd expression wasn't helping matters any.

"We can just dance and run through steps and if you forgot them, let me know," he said as he placed his right hand on her waist and held his other hand out for her to grasp. "How much do you remember?"

She followed suit, reaching up to put her left hand on his shoulder and resting her free hand in his. His hand was warm and much larger than her own, though she noted that their hands kind of fit perfectly together. He started guiding them slowly around the room, and Maya followed his lead, though she was starting to feel kind of bashful. She'd only practice with Harper up to this point, and though Harper was taller than her, it wasn't by much. Maya was pretty much the same build as Harper too. It was a different experience dancing with Lucas though. She couldn't look him in the eye for some reason.

"It's been a little bit of a while since I did this." She stared at the logo on his t-shirt. "Were you at practice?"

"No, I was at the trainer's getting my leg checked."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a small bout of shin splints. I didn't stretch right yesterday because I was late for practice." Lucas' brows furrowed as he stared at her. "You know if you don't look at your partner, they'll think you hate their guts. Not to mention if you don't communicate with your partner with your eyes you could trip or step on feet."

She dragged her gaze up reluctantly.

"That's my eyebrow, Maya." Lucas rolled his eyes. "That's my mouth. If eye contact makes you uncomfortable just look at the space right between my eyes."

"I'm not uncomfortable," she said, finally meeting his gaze. "You're just taller than me so my neck hurts to look up."

It was a stupid reason and the look on his face told her he very much thought so too, but what was she supposed to say. Eye contact with him _did_ unnerve her.

She didn't usually feel so awkward around Lucas, but ever since her little makeover, things had been kind of awkward sometimes. Not to mention the fact that sometimes she felt a bit shy when Lucas looked at her. It wasn't like she was uncomfortable _with_ Lucas, but there was a certain level of discomfort she didn't really understand.

"So…" he said just to make conversation when they'd been silent for way too long, "made any progress with Josh yet?"

She pulled a face, wrinkling her nose. It was a weird question. "Uh no. He's a senior and all. College apps. Soccer. He's pretty busy."

"Right."

He spun Maya gently and caught her hand when she was facing him again. They continued their steps, adding a few more complicated ones every once in a while. When she got a step wrong, he corrected it and they did it again so she could get it this time.

"Uh what about you and uh, your prospect?" Maya asked, trying to seem nonchalant, though she wasn't sure if her slight vexation carried through her voice.

Lucas looked a little anxious for a second. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you… uh, I figured you'd be interested in Riley and all."

"Riley Matthews?" A look of relief just barely flickered in his gaze, but Maya had definitely caught it. Why was he acting so twitchy? "She's nice, but I barely know her."

She wanted to ask him about the project, but Lucas was staring at her a little too acutely, like he was trying to figure something out.

Maya averted her gaze immediately. "Guess I was mistaken."

"…Yeah." Lucas' eyes narrowed a fraction. "Eyes, Maya."

She snapped her gaze back up to his, but they fell quiet as they waltzed. Maya let her mind roam to any and every subject she could think of. Anything to take her mind off the fact that Lucas' eyes were really gorgeous when the light hit them just right and made them look almost clear.

"You know, the best way to get a guy interested in you is to show him your good points and your sense of humour by talking to him. Josh will probably see that if you talk to him. Just start a conversation," Lucas brought up suddenly.

"Yeah, I just haven't had a chance to talk to him." She didn't really want to talk about Josh around Lucas. It was weird. "Plus, I've never really had a boyfriend before. Well, I mean, there was one guy in my rebel phase, but we just held hands and talked about the damage we could do to the system. He thought he was _so_ edgy because he walked around with a chain on his pants and spiked his hair."

Lucas snorted and Maya found herself smiling.

"He was a real piece of work. His idea of a date was lighting a bag of dog crap on fire and tossing it in a car."

"I dunno… That sounds pretty romantic to me," Lucas joked. "I think I'll try that out one day."

"So… what about you? Any past relationships you're not proud of?"

"My relationships weren't crazy like yours. Just normal dates every once in a while. I've had three girlfriends in the past. And a new girlfriend every day when I was in preschool apparently."

"Ah, so three year old Huckleberry was a player."

"I'm not proud of it." He sighed in shame. "How could I so heartlessly toss them out like used napkins?"

Maya laughed at his dumb joke. He really was incredibly dorky sometimes.

"I don't know if you want any advice, but… just be yourself. You're a great person, Maya, and I'm sure Josh will recognise that."

She hadn't been expecting that comment at all. "Thanks."

They stopped dancing when the music stopped, though they didn't move from their position. Maya stared up at him, her heart suddenly quickening its pace. His eyes were dancing, mesmerising to her, and she chewed her bottom lip. Lucas' gaze drifted down to her lips, and Maya's breath caught in her chest.

Then the door was pushed open by the janitor. He saw them and growled under his breath, clearly looking aggravated.

"Can you kids go home now? Break started already, and I've got a room to clean."

Lucas let out a long breath and took a step back from her with a bit of a grimace. "Yeah, I should start heading home. Gotta pack for Texas. See you after the break."

He turned and left without another word.

"Bye…"

And once again, Maya wondered why she felt kind of disappointed.

~.~.~

"So, Maya was it?" The prissy woman sitting to her right asked her. Many other people at their table turned to look at her to see her response. "Where exactly do you study?"

"John Quincy Adams Academy," Maya responded, wishing that the after dinner salad could already be served at their table so most people would focus on their meal and not on the conversation.

Things had been going well so far because she'd made minimal conversation with the other people at the table. She'd been focusin solely on listening to the conversations between the people at her table while they ate their meals. But now she'd been dragged into the conversation, and she only hoped the focus wouldn't remain on her for very long. It'd only be a matter of time before she said something that would get her shunned.

The prissy woman made a pinched face as she dabbed at the corner of her lips with her napkin. "Well, it's not bad, but definitely not as good as _Einstein_ Academy. Most of our children here attend Einstein. They have better standards for teachers."

"Really, Eloise?" April asked innocently enough, though her gaze was sharp and words even sharper. "Was it not Einstein that had a scandal five years ago because it was revealed a teacher only kept their job because of their affair with the headmaster of the school?"

The sour priss narrowed her eyes, her face looking flustered. "Th-that was just one teacher out of many!"

Maya sat up a bit straighter, smiling a bit at April's subtle defence. When she glanced at her grandmother, April winked at her.

"I agree." The large man across from Maya stated. "Einstein has really dropped in quality over the past few years. Their curriculum does not do enough to cultivate innovative minds or encourage ambition and individuality. I don't want my child to attend a school that will mold him into a puppet for society. My son, Léo, will be attending JQA Academy for sure."

"That's Philip Ramos, the ambassador of Colombia to the US." April explained discreetly to Maya. "He's a very friendly man and a good ally to have. I'd recommend saving a dance for him later to introduce yourself."

"Will do." Maya whispered back.

The waiters finally set the salad onto their plates for them. There was a glob of caviar at the centre. When everyone had been served, Maya picked up the right fork and tucked into the fish right away. She'd never had it before and it was kind of exciting to get to try it for the first time.

But as soon as she put a piece in her mouth, she wanted to spit it back out. It was _awful_. She glanced around to see if anyone else was tasting it too, but they all just seemed to be enjoying it. Was hers the only rotten clump or something?

There was no way she was going to eat this crap, but leaving it on her plate was not only impolite, but frowned upon. She picked up the entire lump and put it in her mouth.

Thankfully, everyone was too focused on eating and then the conversation about private education in their countries to pay attention to Maya. She brought her napkin up to her lips and discreetly spit the caviar out into it. In a fluid motion, she brought her arm to her side. She couldn't look down at her purse, but she felt around for the zipper of it and when she was sure she had it open, she dropped the balled up napkin inside.

She felt proud of herself and continued to eat until she finished her salad. Dinner would be done soon enough and then the dancing and schmoozing would begin. Maybe she'd be able to get through this thing with minimal incident.

Except the prissy woman reached into her purse to reapply her lipstick after the salad and screamed when she pulled up the wet wad of caviar hidden in the napkin instead.

"Who put this in my purse?!"

Maya cursed in her mind. She'd accidentally put the fish in the wrong bag! Hers was hanging on the chair right next to the woman's and she'd put the chewed up food right in her bag.

Some people at their table started snickering, looking away to hide the fact that they were about to laugh. April's face was strangely blank, though Maya could feel the weight of April's stare on her. Maya kept quiet, keeping her eyes on her plate and wishing the incident could move on already before anyone correctly deduced her as the culprit. The prissy woman was making way too much noise as she barked at the others and drew attention to herself.

"Umm, I'm going to the bathroom," Maya blurted out, hoping to hide away in the bathroom until dinner was over. Maybe if she just left dinner, nothing else embarrassing would happen.

"Maya, wait—!" April started to urgently say.

But Maya already started to stand up. She pushed her chair back, and it rammed smack dab right into a waiter behind her holding trays of soup to serve. The waiter cried out as he lost his balance, tried to catch it, and in the process tipped his hand. The precariously balanced soup all spilled over the side of his tray

And landed right on the prissy woman.

She let out a bloodcurdling screech, having a mini melt down and freakout as tons of soup ruined her hair and spilled all over and in her dress. Mushrooms landed in her hair, cut pieces of green onions clung to her jewels. Maya froze, partially out of her chair, her jaw dropping in horror as she saw the mess she'd just cause. Beside her, April's face was in her hand, taking deep breaths and looking like she was about to blow a gasket.

There was total silence as everyone—and she meant _everyone_ , even people at other tables—turned to watch the mess that had unfolded. She wanted to shrink into herself and hide forever. Eyes were all on them. She would never live this down for as long as she lived.

She'd told April that the party was going to be awful, that things would go sour very quickly, but April hadn't listened. She'd spouted off some nonsense about how she would make new friends and have a blast talking to important people.

But Maya had known the minute they had climbed the stairs up to the gargantuan mansion. She'd already felt out of place surrounded by the smell of all the wealth, and when she felt out of place and nervous, she tended to make mistakes she normally wouldn't.

And then the strangest thing happened. One by one, people started laughing hard, cracking up as they watched the situation. Soon enough, most everyone at their table was clutching their stomachs at the incident. The prissy woman was livid, yelling at everyone, but her fury was only adding to the humour in the situation. Maya was too horrified to find it funny though. She'd just sincerely screwed something up. There would be no getting out of this unscathed.

The prissy woman shouted expletives in French as many laughing people at their table left their seats to console her and help her wipe off soup on her skin and onions in her hair.

"You imbecilic, idiotic, little—!"

"Excuse us for a moment," April said to cut off the woman before she continued her explosion of insults. She stood up and gave Maya a look that told her to clearly follow her.

Maya stood up without a word and dragged her feet after April as she took her to another area of the room closer to the orchestra. Great. Now she was about to get kicked out of her first ever ball.

"Maya just sit here. And please, _please_ don't touch anything," April told her sternly as she turned and walked away to make her rounds to apologise to the woman Maya had sincerely insulted with her stupidity.

Maya watched in the distance as several of the women led the prissy woman towards the restrooms. She was still shouting angry expletives in French, and Maya winced at the huge problem she had caused.

Maya sighed, slouching in the chair. What a frickin' disaster. Just as she'd suspected of this event. Even dressing up in thousand dollar robes and pinning her hair up and having perfectly applied makeup didn't change the fact that she couldn't walk the walk and talk the talk. Every time she started to think being a princess was easier, it got very hard.

She sat there silently as the turmoil calmed down, as people finished their dinners and then slowly made their ways over near the orchestra. The waltzing and dancing had commenced. Maya had originally been hoping to use this as an opportunity to impress April with how much progress she'd made with the lessons, but after that dinner disaster, she doubted anything would work anymore.

"May I have this dance, Cinderella?" A guy who looked her age suddenly popped up in front of her and bowed low, his hand held out to her. Maya was about to decline, but he spoke again. "Please do not withhold me the honour. You, who art the most beautiful person this eve. Your lips remind me of the delicate petals of roses on a dew drop morning. Madam, you must allow me to steal a kiss by the end of the night for I am sure it is Heaven that I will find on your lips."

Maya's nose wrinkled in disgust. This bowl cut wearing guy had a lot of nerve saying something like that to someone he didn't know at all.

"No, get lost, you weirdo creep."

He straightened and grinned, though he didn't retract his hand. "Alright, alright, sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. I just thought you might swoon if I sounded like a prince. Or Darcy."

"In what world would any girl swoon from that?" Maya growled, eyes narrowed in annoyance. Who was this little fuck? "And William Darcy has more charisma than the trite mess you just uttered. I think I lost a handful of neurons."

"Ouch. Your lips look gentle as the petals of a flower, but your tongue could cut glass. Fiesty. I like it." His grinned widened. "You're right. I apologise. Let me try again: may I have this dance?"

Maya wasn't sure if April wanted her to be standing up or moving around when she was definitely on some sort of probation, but the brunet's smile was sincere and he looked really earnest. He was weird, but it wasn't like she felt threatened by him.

"Why?"

"Because I think you're beautiful."

She rose a brow. "So you said. There are plenty of other beautiful people here."

"Yes, but you're one of the few here in my age group. Plus, you've got this air of coolness to you. You're different. Like me." He rocked back and forth on his heels as he slipped his hands in his pockets. "I just really wanted to get to know you. And I mean that in a totally platonic way."

Well, he seemed like he was a bit awkward in some ways, but now that he was honest with her, he didn't seem so bad. "Fine."

She rolled her eyes, but the cheerful smile he donned made her unable to contain her own. She took his hand and let him pull her to the floor into a gentle waltz much like the other attendees who were dancing to the orchestral pieces. Once situated, he took the liberty of guiding her around in big sweeping circles. But keeping up with him was easier than keeping up with Lucas. For one thing, she didn't feel as nervous dancing with this guy than when she had danced with Lucas.

"You're not half bad," he commended in amusement. "You look like the type who would willingly stomp on toes, so I was expecting worse."

"Gee thanks."

They continued on in their slow trajectory, but halfway through the song, Maya felt pinpricks on the back of her neck as if someone was watching her. Maya glanced around and finally found the source of the odd feeling. There was a short girl with luscious black hair standing off to the side closest to the champagne tables. Her glasses obscured some of her eyes a bit, but upon further inspection, Maya could definitely see that she was giving Maya a death glare.

"Umm, that girl is glaring at me like she wants to kill me." Maya deadpanned. "Who is that? Your girlfriend?"

"Fiancée, and she probably _does_ want to kill you." He explained with an apologetic smile. "Her name is Isadora Smackle, she goes to my school, and she's the daughter of the ambassador of the Philippines to the US. Our parents decided we should get married."

"Arranged marriage… what the hell?" She could understand that kind of thing still being prominent in a dinky country like Valderia but in New York in the 21st century? It really was true. People in the highest classes truly did live completely different lives from normal people. This whole party even reeked of the early Victorian Era of England. "Are you against it?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't quite say I'm against marrying her per se. Our marriage would be substantially beneficial to both our families and our union could provide an opportunity for overseas expansion of my father's business. I just don't want to be tied down right now. I need to spread my wings a bit and explore first."

He couldn't be more than sixteen, but he was already forced to think about alliances and business expansions. It was kind of a downer, the life that he had to lead. Even as a kid, he was tethered to his future and had to make decisions based on what was for the good of his overall future. Suddenly, Maya was really grateful for the life she'd had a chance to live before finding out she was a princess. It was a lot of responsibility. And the thought of the responsibility was making her not want it.

"I hope you weren't expecting me to be one of those explorations."

"Of course not!" But his cheesy grin totally gave away his mindset.

"Mmhmm…" Maya said in monotone, turning her attention away from the furious girl watching them like a hawk.

"Say something. Anything. I love your voice."

Maya scowled at him. "Stop being a creep, or I'm leaving."

"Sorry. I don't get out much."

"You are one weird dude." Not to mention a bit exhausting.

"But it's refreshing, right? You're not going to get this kind of honesty from many people at this kind of party."

"This is my first party." Maya admitted. "Who are you anyway?"

He looked surprised by her question. "You didn't know? I'm Farkle Minkus."

"Wait, _Minkus_? As in the man hosting this?"

Farkle's shit eating grin only grew. "I'm his son."

"Wow." She was a little embarrassed that she hadn't recognised one of the hosts. "Sorry. I don't know people in this kind of world."

"You do look a little out of place."

"Tell me about it. It's my first banquet, and I made a waiter spill his soup on a woman."

"Ah, so that was you who did that." He was laughing though. "You know that woman was a prominent French diplomat, right? You could have caused an international incident."

" _What_?" Maya's eyes widened immensely. "Are you serious?!"

"Not at all." They had to stop dancing momentarily for him to control his laughter. "I was just kidding about that."

"Urgh, you suck!" She punched his shoulder. "That was an awful moment. It's too early to joke about it."

"From my viewpoint, it looked like more people found it funny than awful."

"Well I'm about to get chewed out by my grandmother for screwing everything up, so I don't find it very funny at all."

"Alright, point taken." He grinned. "So how are you enjoying the party, you know, aside from the whole dinner blunder?"

Maya shrugged, looking around at all the people around them still waltzing. April had said these kinds of parties were custom for royalty, but if that was the case, she kind of didn't want to go to any more of them. Her screw-up aside, this wasn't really a fun event. It wasn't like she was invited to a lot of high school parties, but even she knew that this party was such a drag.

"It's kind of boring. Is this what all these banquet parties are like?"

"Boring? These are a lot of fun."

"You have a string orchestra playing baroque instead of some band playing dance classics, people are wearing thousand dollar clothes that they can barely move in and we're dancing like we're in the Elizabethan era. Do you not see how outdated this whole thing is?"

"You're looking at the big picture. Try to look at more subtle details. These parties are perfect for people watching." Farkle pointed to a couple dancing near them. "That man's looks like he has to take the biggest shit of his life but his wife clearly isn't letting him leave."

Maya started laughing. It was definitely true.

"And that woman over there is trying to lead her partner. She learned the male part and is having trouble adjusting. They keep bumping into each other and struggling to find rhythm."

"Wow." It was actually pretty funny. Now that she paid more attention to the people, they didn't look all gelled together with a glossy finish. It looked like a lot of them were messing up steps or had the same bored expressions on their faces that she did. "I never noticed."

"Well it is your first party. Next time you go to one, make sure you pay attention to people's facial expressions. They try so hard to act posh, but most of these people are bumbling idiots and can't tell left from right. It's the funniest thing to see them try to act like they know what they're doing."

Maya nodded with a smile. "I'll do that."

"That's the first genuine smile you've given me. I'm honoured you let me see it." Farkle bowed deeply as the orchestra played the last few notes of the piece. "Thank you for the dance. I have to go greet other guests now."

"Alright…"

It was probably about time for her to go back to her isolated punishment anyway. If April was looking for her, she had to make sure her grandmother knew she wasn't up to no good. It kind of sucked too. Farkle was super friendly compared to the others who were a little standoffish.

"Hey, you never told me your name," Farkle said.

"It's Maya. Maya Hart."

His brows shot up in surprise for a second, but he quickly replaced his shocked expression with an easy smile. And if she really thought about it, a smile that was a little _too_ mischievous.

"What?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Nothing… It's a lovely name." He rocked back and forth on his heels nonchalantly. "Anyway, let me give you my number. If you ever need tips on parties or ever just want to talk, feel free to text or call. Our schools may be rivals, but that doesn't mean we have to be."

He was pretty damn weird, but he was nice. And plus, he was the first person from this high society who'd actually stopped to give her the time of day and make her feel more at ease here.

"You know what? What the hell. Yeah, give me your number."

They exchanged numbers, and then Farkle disappeared in the crowd of people on the dance floor. As she began to make her way off, Philip Ramos suddenly blocked her path, a charming smile on his face as he bowed slightly to her.

"May I have this dance?"

"Uh, yes sir."

She took his hands, allowing him to guide her in another waltz to more upbeat music. She was totally messing up the steps and was practically being dragged around, but if the ambassador noticed her blunders he certainly didn't care.

"Please, none of that sir business. Feel free to call me Philip." He chuckled, his laughter jolly and easing Maya's nerves a bit. April had said he was friendly, and his informality was helping her feel more at ease. "I just wanted to say your antics at dinner made me laugh harder than I ever have before. I know you put the chewed up caviar in her purse."

Maya laughed awkwardly, cringing a bit. "I thought I was discreet about it."

He snorted. "While it's true none of us _saw_ you do it, it's not difficult to put two and two together considering what else you did to Eloise. But don't worry about that sour old bat. She deserved a little deflating of her enormous ego."

Maya couldn't hide her grin. "I didn't do it on purpose, I promise."

"I don't consider it your fault, you know? I think that caviar was spoiled tonight."

So Maya hadn't been nuts for thinking it may have been spoiled. For a second she'd thought maybe the pungent taste was something acquired like that pear soup shit. "But you all ate it all anyway. Why go through the torture?"

"I just left it on my plate. Tricks of the trade. Consider that next time." He joked.

Maya had just assumed not eating something would be rude to the host, but now she definitely knew better.

"Wow. All that mess for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing. I got to watch something more entertaining than TV tonight." He laughed. "Well, I must be returning to my wife and son at home. This place is so uptight and stifling, it's making my nose stuffy. It was nice to meet you. If you ever want to come over to the embassy for some homemade arepas by my wife, we will welcome you anytime."

Maya grinned. "I will. Thank you."

This night was actually kind of starting to pick up.

~.~.~

Maya groaned, plopping down in her chair to relax when Stuart Minkus finally informed everyone the end of the party had arrived. Harper had gone around to get the car, and thankfully, Maya could stop waltzing with other people and trampling on their feet like a herd elephant. At first she'd been doing so well, but as the night wore on, her feet wore out and her shoulders and arms started to hurt and soon she was making mistakes left and right. She completely understood why April had her practice wearing and walking in heels for extremely long periods of time with her arms up. This was intense.

Her feet ached, the heels were pinching her toes now and her underwear had ridden up her crack so badly she couldn't dig it out inconspicuously. This had been a disaster and a clear example to Maya that she needed a ton more training if she wanted to fit into this kind of society. Although now she was starting to think maybe she would never fit in. Looking the part didn't mean she actually _was_ the part. April was awfully good at faking it until she made it, but Maya had a long way to go and a lot of work to do. Was it even worth it?

"Maya?"

Maya looked up at the familiar voice and was alarmed to see Riley all dressed up in a lilac ball gown. She would have never expected to see her here.

"Wait, you were at this party, Riley?"

"Yeah, I didn't expect to see you too! If I had known you were here, I would have tried to find you sooner." She smiled bashfully, nudging the toe of her shoe into the carpet. "You always look like you have so much fun at school with your friends. You probably would have made the party fun tonight too."

"Fun? I made a mess of things tonight. I spilled soup on a senator's wife and put my chewed up caviar in her purse."

Riley laughed, a tinkling, dainty little sound that made her sound like an actual princess. "I heard about that. That was you?"

"Unfortunately…" Maya sighed. And now April was going to grill her until her ears fell off. This wasn't some small thing that could be fixed with an apology.

"I wish I had been near you. This party could have been a lot more fun. I was stuck listening to snooty people rave about their own accomplishments."

"Yeah same. It's pretty obnoxious. Definitely not the highlight of my evening." Maya's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Is this what your life is usually like? Being stuck around people you don't like?"

"I suppose so. Every once in a while since my mom has worked a few pretty high key cases and is famous. It gets old fast though. Sometimes I just want to be a normal girl who doesn't have to act on her best behaviour otherwise it reflects on her parents. I'm kind of clumsy too, so I get into stupid mishaps and embarrass them."

"Believe me I know how that feels…"

Except instead of her parents, it was a whole damn country and all prior rulers.

"You do?" Riley looked confused.

"I uh… when I was in junior high, I was kind of a delinquent in the making," Maya said, coming up with quick excuse to cover her near spill. "People gave my mom crap because they thought she didn't raise me right since I kept doing dumb things. The apple never falls far from the tree and crap like that."

"Oh. Yeah, like that. So who are you here with?" Riley asked as she looked around at the slowly dwindling banquet hall.

Maya blinked. "Hmm?"

"Well, sorry I promise I'm not trying to be rude or say something rude or be nosy! I'm just saying, invitations to Stuart Minkus' events and ones like this are usually reserved for really prominent government officials. Even my family doesn't technically qualify, but I've known his son Farkle since we were young, and our families are old friends. Or rather his father was in love with my mother—still, I think—and I think he thinks he'll gain favour with her if he keeps inviting her to these events, but he probably didn't expect her to also bring her kids and husband too." She gasped. "Oh I'm sorry! I'm rambling!"

Maya smiled. "It's fine. I'm here with my grandmother."

"Is she a retired senator or government official?"

"…Yupp. A government official." _The_ government official of Valderia. "She brought me here to get a taste of the grass on the other side."

"Makes sense." Someone in the distance called Riley to leave, and she sighed as she turned back to face Maya. "Well… Looks like I've got to go home. It was nice to talk to you. See you at school after the break!"

"Yeah, have a good break. Bye Riley."

The girl skipped off cheerfully, heading out to leave. Maya had thought Riley would be one of those really mean, fake peppy girls who were hiding behind cuteness and sweetness, but she seemed legitimately genuine. She wasn't like the other girls in her group of friends like Elaine and Corina. She was kind of goofy, but she seemed pretty sincere to Maya.

"Maya, car's here," Harper said as she appeared next to her. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. On to my punishment."

"Let's just hope April doesn't tack on more stuff after your performance tonight…" She wrapped an arm around Maya's shoulders to console her as she guided her towards the doors. "C'mon. I think you've probably had enough of all this posh shit."

Maya really had. But the evening had gone better than she had expected.

~.~.~

"He looks like an orange. That poor boy has so much makeup on him. And for what? All to cover up the clearly still visible pimples on his face."

Maya cackled with laughter at April's comment. She'd put on a teen drama show to watch with April and the woman wouldn't stop commenting her distaste on everything that happened in the show. They were lounging around on the couch, their heels off as they waited for Katy to return home from her shift. Maya hadn't expected April to wait with her, but her grandmother had been just as tired as she was and wanted the chance to sit and relax for a bit.

"What piss poor acting. This is not entertainment…" she said, side eyeing Maya. "You know what _is_ entertaining? Watching your granddaughter drop hot soup on the head of a very important woman."

"Technically, the waiter did that." Maya had a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry about ruining the party, April. I acted like a fool."

"Are you kidding?" April's rich laughter rang throughout the room. "That was probably the most fun I and so many others have had in so many years with those stuffed shirts. You were _delightful_."

That was news to her. "I thought you were mad?"

"Of course I was. I still am. But that didn't change the fact that it was hilarious. I was trying my darned hardest not to laugh, but Maya, the whole thing was so ridiculous I couldn't believe you had actually done that."

"But my reputation as princess…?"

"We haven't revealed you yet. As far as they were concerned, you were just a clueless young guest."

Maya sat up a bit haughtily. "Well, then you're welcome."

"Don't get cocky, young lady. We're still tacking on several more etiquette lessons to your curriculum for next term." April leaned back further in the cushions. "Tell me, Maya. How is life in New York for you? I've never asked."

"It's great. I mean, I had some pretty rough years growing up when my mom was working all the time and we didn't get to talk. And then I went through a phase where I would skip school, avoid homework, and basically fail tests all the time because I wasn't taking things seriously."

Maya glanced at April to see how she was taking the information. But April was just watching her in rapt attention, no judgement in her expression as Maya told her story.

"But after coming to JQA, I've actually made the best friends I could ever ask for. School is bearable because I have them in my life. If it weren't for them, I could have been seriously worse than when we first met."

"Maya," April said seriously. Maya's gaze went back to her grandmother, and she stopped speaking. "I'm sorry I've never been in your life. I knew of your existence this whole time, but I never made an effort to get to know my granddaughter. I've missed a lot I should have been a part of."

The unexpected apology made Maya smile warmly. She took April's hand and squeezed it to show her she was fine.

"It's okay. Honestly. I mean, you have been ruling a country in your spare time, so it's not like you had a choice," Maya joked.

April brought a hand to Maya's face, stroking her cheek softly. "I see your mother's compassion and warmth in you, my dear."

"And what do you see from my dad?" Maya asked bluntly with a raised brow.

April stiffened, her hand dropping back to the couch in shock at the question. Her expression grew closed off, uncomfortable with the conversation.

"He told me that you guys haven't spoken since he ditched," Maya pressed, refusing to give in.

"Yes, it has been a long time," she said tightly. "I need more wine…"

"You disowned your own son, April. That's kind of messed up."

"I had no choice, the officials didn't approve of his behaviour and the dissent was growing. He'd ruined a prominent political relationship with his rash behaviour, and I needed to quell all the opposing voices."

"Was it worth losing your son though?" Maya shrugged. "The way I see it, you were queen and if people were mad at Kermit, they should have just sucked it up and shut up."

"It's not that simple, Maya. Politics and ruling are full of shades of grey, and I did what I had to do to keep the peace in my country." April shook her head. "It was necessary, but I will regret it forever. He's my only child. And we can never talk again."

"Maybe you can. It's not that hard."

"You think after all I did to him, strip him of his title, remove his heirship, publically denounce him and disown him as my son, close off Valderia and my heart to him, and refuse to speak to him any longer that he will ever want me back in his life?"

"Yeah." Maya honestly believed it. "And all it takes is an I'm sorry."

April chuckled miserably. "If it were that easy, I would have done it years ago."

"It is that easy. He might not forgive you, but the apology is the start. That's how I reconciled with him somewhat after all these years. I'm still mad at him for deserting us, and moving on to another family, but the fact that he still cares about me means something to me, even if he's not active in my life. Give it a try and you might be surprised."

She smiled. "Alright. I'll give it a try."

"Good. Now tell me what you see in me from my father."

"Well, aside from your facial resemblance, you have your father's stubborn streak and his ridiculous sense of humour." Maya tucked the information in her mind. She may still have been a little mad at her father for deserting her when she was young, but knowing they were still connected in some way warmed her heart. April yawned, covering her mouth carefully with her hand. "So how did you enjoy the party? Did you make some nice new friends tonight?"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"So then you admit this wasn't as bad as you expected?"

"Yes." She admitted begrudgingly. "It wasn't that bad. But it was still bad. And next time, we go to an event of my choosing, yeah?"

"That sounds like a plan. But where exactly did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking when school's out we could go on a trip to Coney Island. You, me, Harper, and Mom."

April chortled. "Are you sure about that? Katy and Harper will be at each other's throats the whole time."

"If they start fighting about their smut, we're ditching them, deal?"

"Deal."

The two fell silent for a little bit, watching the people act like fools on the show. The trip to Coney would take place after the Valderian Independence Day ball though. Maya would have to make up her mind before then. But she wasn't feeling particularly confident about her success as next in line for the throne.

"Hey. Tell me the truth," Maya said a bit quietly. April turned to her. "Do you honestly think I have what it takes to be the crown princess of Valderia? Today was a disaster and knowing me, there's plenty more where that came from."

"…I don't doubt that you will make plenty more mistakes, Maya. It's in your nature."

She frowned. "Ouch."

April chuckled, patting Maya's hand to console her. "Oh, but I mean that in the very best way. Make many mistakes, Maya. Falter in your path. It's how you grow stronger. It's how you learn. No one starts the princess path perfect. You have to mess up to grow in the process. And I know that you'll take your experience from tonight and use it to do better next time. I have faith in you. You can be a princess. You just have to have faith in yourself."

Maya's heart swelled in her chest. April was pretty severe whenever she screwed up during lessons, but to hear that she still had faith in Maya to succeed despite that warmed her heart.

"You honestly think that?"

"One hundred percent, my dear. You have a lot to learn, but you are no doubt the princess Valderia needs." April gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

She clinked her glass of sparkling cider with April's wine and they both took a sip.

~.~.~

Maya wished that Christmas break had been more eventful or longer.

She'd basically spent the whole time studying for finals and practicing whatever April wanted her to work on. Zay and Missy hadn't been in town either, but at least they'd been an outlet when she called them. April had prepared an evaluation on all subjects up to that point and though Maya had done satisfactory, she was pretty shaky on other topics, so April had decided to add them again to the curriculum. Maya knew this coming term was going to be her busiest yet, especially with her coming decision to accept the throne in the future or not.

But one good thing about school coming back in session was her birthday celebration.

She'd spent the morning having a huge birthday brunch with her mom, April, and Harper at the embassy. They'd followed it up with an afternoon at the spa, getting pampered for hours. Maya had never experienced such luxury and she was on cloud nine the rest of the afternoon. Her father had even sent her a birthday card, once again telling her he believed in her. It was nice to know he was still looking after her even though she'd asked him not to be in her life.

Missy threw her a gigantic 1920's themed party with a modern twist at her penthouse apartment. Her stepmom Tricia had actually allowed Missy to make it happen, so Zay and Missy had pulled out all the stops for her evening party. They'd set up the main room like an arcade with all sorts of games and prizes that could be won. They'd invited Lucas, Billy, Wyatt, Yindra, and a bunch of other friends and people they knew that they deemed pretty cool.

Her friends were fantastic people, and by the end of the night, Maya was beyond stuffed with the love she'd gotten as well as the trashy junk food and snacks she'd eaten all night.

"I'll see you at school. Happy birthday, Maya!" Yindra said as she left the apartment.

Aside from Lucas and Zay, all the other guests had finally gone home for the evening. Maya groaned as she peeled her heels off of her feet. She'd worn fairly high heels for the evening just so she could get more practice in, but her body was beyond sore now.

"Missy?" Maya called out as she searched for her friends. They probably had to start up the clean-up soon, but her friends were currently MIA.

She walked out on the living room balcony, but only Lucas was there, leaning on the banister and staring out at the city skyline.

"It's a gorgeous night, huh?" he muttered.

Maya settled beside him and leaned her elbows on the railing. "Missy has one of the best views in the city. All I ever see is my neighbour Gladys' underwear line."

Lucas chuckled. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"It was a great Sweet Sixteen. Best one I could have ever asked for."

"I'm glad. Zay was kind of freaking out. He wanted everything to be perfect."

Zay was honestly the very best friend she could ever ask for. She wished she had more time to spend with him. She felt bad.

"He's the best." She smiled. "He was my first friend after I transferred. I owe him so much. If it weren't for him, I would have probably started trashing or vandalising the school to get kicked out. "

He stared at her, slightly shocked by her admittance. "Wait, you were a delinquent too?"

Her gaze shot to his. "What do you mean too? You were a delinquent?"

She would never have expected that given the way he behaved. He seemed so docile and gentle.

Lucas looked sheepish, embarrassed about his old past. "Well, not a full delinquent or anything horrible, but I got kicked out of school for getting into fights with bullies. That's also kind of the reason I moved here."

"Wow." She was actually shocked.

"Yeah… Not proud of it."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes." She herself had been making hundreds and thousands of mistakes since the beginning of time. She hadn't been calling herself Maya The Mistake since she was young for nothing. "It's not about what you've done, Lucas. It's about what you're doing now to amend those past mistakes."

He smiled at her, something soft and affectionate, and Maya's heart skipped a beat. She licked her lips nervously, clearing her throat to try to move the conversation along.

"So _you're_ the real bad boy, huh?"

"I hope I'm not in danger of you falling for me since I'm a bad boy too," he joked, nudging her with his elbow.

"Hah, you wish. You're still a Huckleberry dork. And you just don't seem like a bad boy."

"Maybe not, but I still made a ton of bad choices."

"Well, they couldn't have been _all_ bad if you ended up meeting me because of those choices," Maya said playfully, chuckling to herself. "I made your life more worthwhile."

"And humble to boot…" Lucas drawled, laughing softly.

"But you're a good guy, Lucas." She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, twirling the tassels at the bottom of her skirt and suddenly feeling bashful complimenting him. "At least, I think so."

"Thanks, Maya."

They held each other's gaze. Her heartbeat picked up in her chest when he leaned a bit closer to her. She leaned toward him too, her eyelids lowering a bit.

Until a car in the traffic below honked long and loud. They pulled away from each other so quickly and looked away.

It took quite a few seconds for Maya's heartrate to go back to normal. She tried to laugh like she was unbothered, but it came out sounding awkward. "…Th-that was so weird."

"Yeah… That came out of nowhere," Lucas said, though he wasn't looking at her, and he kind of looked like he was beating himself up.

Was that a blush on his face?

"Agreed. Gross. Who would ever want to kiss you, you Huckleberry?" Maya tried to say playfully, but she could even sense the lie in her words. She didn't want to kiss Lucas though. Did she?

He gave her a weak smile in return. "That's my line, Shortstack."

But she couldn't help her wildly racing heart, and her thoughts were suddenly jumbled.

What the hell was that?

~.~.~

"Urgh, thank goodness Lucas and Zay decided to clean up the rest of the stuff. I'm pooped," Maya sighed, stretching her arms and letting out a ferocious yawn.

They'd promised to clean up the rest of the stuff, so Missy and Maya had gotten on their jammies and were in Missy's room, chilling and waiting for the boys to leave so they could do their sleepover rituals and walk around with their mud masks.

"So how have you been?"

Maya rolled over, setting the magazine down and frowning at Missy. "Fine…? Why do you ask?"

"You just seem kind of different." Missy was brushing her hair nonchalantly, but Maya could sense that her mind was on something else entirely. She was stewing over something.

"I'm the same me."

"No, you're not really." Missy set her brush down and turned around from her makeup dresser to give Maya an astute look. "I mean, not that it's a bad thing. I love this whole regal confidence thing you're oozing. It's cool. You're cool…"

"I'm sensing a but in there somewhere…"

" _But_ you just seem like you've changed into a whole new Maya or something." Missy shrugged. "I mean, at school, you've been wanting to sit in the cafeteria instead of on the bleachers as usual. Whenever you get compliments from some of the Pops, you act like it's the best thing since sliced bread. You strut in the hallway and now you never show up to school without your hair in some elaborate hairdo. Again, I'm not saying those are necessarily _bad_ things, but they're not _you_ things. I'm just worried that this new Maya isn't the _same_ Maya I've known."

"I guess I have changed. But some people have to change for situations in their life."

"Why did you?"

It wasn't an accusatory or negative question. Just curious. Maya knew she was fishing for the circumstances behind Maya's transformation.

"…I just… I've had some revelations these past few months. I'm learning things… about myself. And my life," Maya said haltingly, unable to come up with a valid reason on the fly.

"Like what things?" She pressed, her eyes narrowed in distaste now. "What's been going on in your life? Lately it feels like you've been hiding things from me and Zay. Like you're holding back from us. _Talk_ to me."

"Missy…"

"And then there's the fact that you're barely available anymore. The only texts I've gotten from you recently are 'I'm going to be busy until late' every day of the week. It's like whenever we try to talk to you or something, you're never there. And when you are, it's like your mind is elsewhere or it feels like you're lying and trying to cover something up. What's going on with you, Maya? I feel like I don't know you anymore."

"Missy, c'mon. Don't be so dramatic."

She wanted to tell her so badly about all the things that had complicated her life recently. But she couldn't. Not when so much was still unsolved and complicated and crazy. Hell, Maya still didn't know if she had made a decision about accepting the throne yet.

From Missy's raised brow, she could tell Missy was not amused by the response.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm not going to fight with you on your birthday. It's your day and you deserve to enjoy it." Missy picked back up her brush and continued to brush out the tangles in her hair. "Whatever is going on with you, you clearly don't want to talk about it. I get it. Take your time, sort out your thoughts and deal with it. When you want to talk, I'm always available. But it's been months. Do me a favour and stop giving us the 'I'm busy' excuse. Just tell us that you need alone time or that you're with your mom, and we won't badger you. Every time you tell me you're busy now, it feels like you're making excuses because you no longer want to hang out with me."

"Okay. I am sorry, you know?"

"I know you mean the apology, Maya. As always, I appreciate it. But apologies are just empty words if the same habits continue. When you make a change, that's when I'll accept it."

"That's fair." Maya had dodged a bullet because her friend was so understanding, but she felt horrible. She'd been so uninvolved in Missy's life recently. "So how are things with you and Farah?"

"We only see each other twice a week, but she's really cool. It's nice to be pampered."

"I'm happy for you guys." Maya tossed the magazine back on Missy's corner pile. "Are you planning to go steady?"

"Of course. I'm a closer after all." Missy flipped her hair haughtily over her shoulder and then climbed up on her bed with a cat-like grin. "So… you and Lucas, huh? Zay and I saw you guys almost kiss earlier."

Maya blushed to her roots. "It wasn't like that! I don't like him!"

"Interesting~ I don't recall ever saying you _do_ like him. I only said we saw you guys almost kiss."

"W-we got caught up in the moment." Maya stammered loudly. "Besides, I like _Josh_. And I think I actually have a shot with him. Yesterday he stopped by my locker and we talked a bit about our favourite shows."

Missy rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Urgh. Lucas is a _far_ better catch than that asshole. I'm really amazed that you still have feelings for Josh. And by amazed, I mean totally and completely disappointed."

"He helped me at homecoming. When I was shy and scared and new, he talked to me. Plus he's cute."

Missy picked at her fingernail polish, completely unimpressed. "Anything else?"

"…I haven't had a chance to talk to him for real for real yet."

"And you never will. You're being blinded by his boy next door looks. You can't use something from last year—that he doesn't remember and that he probably was drunk for—as evidence for a long standing crush."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Josh is perfect. And I think he likes me."

"This conversation is sickening me." Missy waved her hand dismissively at her with a smirk. "Go get the popcorn from the microwave. It should be done by now."

Maya left Missy's room to get their snack, but as she came to the end of the hall, she nearly ran into Lucas. He was stooped over putting the last bit of streamers into a large black bag. She wouldn't have thought anything of it, but something about the expression on his face put her off. She and Missy hadn't been talking softly. What if Lucas had heard her?

"How long have you been out here?" she asked tentatively.

"Not long. We're done cleaning, so Zay and I are heading out. Zay's in the bathroom, but he'll be out soon." But he didn't look at her when he responded. Plus he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "Goodnight, Maya. Happy birthday."

He walked off to get his keys from the living room. His demeanour seemed off. She knew he had definitely heard her and Missy, but she couldn't think of anything to say. Should she have apologised?

All Maya knew was she felt like utter shit.

~.~.~

Maya sighed, slumping on the table, her mind on anything but her lesson.

Lucas hadn't been around much since her birthday party a week ago. It also seemed like he was pretty much avoiding her. Or if not, he was pretty uneasy around her, and they weren't as carefree around each other as they used to be. She wondered if she'd done something to piss him off because she couldn't help but feel like he was hurt because of her. She asked Zay if it was true, but he only gave her this strange look as if it should be obvious and wouldn't answer the question.

"Maya, pay attention. There'll be a banquet this weekend, and I want you to be prepared to talk to some of the Valderian dignitaries who don't know English." April snapped, setting her pointer on the table. "You've been spacing out all afternoon. What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

Harper gave April a look, almost like a nudge, and April's expression shifted to one of clarity. "Ah. It's that boy she has a crush on. What was his name?"

"Lucas Friar. He wants to be a vet, suspended multiple times for getting into fights with bullies and then finally kicked out of his school this year for beating someone up who kept harassing his friend. Then transferred to JQA thanks to his mom being a friend of someone on the board. At the very least, we know he'll be able to protect Maya if push comes to shove."

"I don't have a crush on Lucas. He's just a friend." She rolled her eyes. "You know this whole 'spy on Maya all the time' spiel has gotten old. And what the hell? Have you been stalking him?"

Harper snapped her phone shut. "Call it an in depth background check."

"That is none of your business to know. He told me that in confidence and you're going around snooping in his business?!"

"We must do thorough checks on the people you surround yourself with Maya. Some people will try to use you for publicity as well." April started to explain matter of factly. "If they are dangerous individuals—"

"We are in high school and they know nothing about my secret life! How the hell would they pose a danger to me?" Maya shouted as she shot up from her chair and slapped her hand on the desk. "That's just rude and you have no right to be nosy especially about a secret like that that he wants to keep under wraps because he wants to have a new start. That's not fair to him that you're digging around in his personal life. Why did you target Lucas like that anyway?"

April and Harper gave each other tense knowing looks.

"Well, I noticed on your birthday two weeks ago—"

"How in the hell?! You weren't even there, Harper." Maya threw her hands up in exasperation. "Is there no privacy in my life anymore?!"

"You two almost kissed, Maya."

Her cheeks flushed hot before she could even try to tamp it down. "We were just caught up in the moment! It's not like I like him or anything."

April shook her head. "Still. When you are a monarch Maya, romantic relationships might not last with a normal civilian. Taking the throne might mean the demise of promising romances."

"What?"

"The young Texan. He can prove to be consort material in the future and I suppose you could marry eventually, but—"

" _What_?! April, we're not even _dating_ , let alone marriage prospects. I am sixteen years old! You're way jumping the gun."

"Am I?" Her eyes narrowed astutely. "Do you want to date him?"

"Yes!" Maya gasped. "I mean yes to the jumping the gun thing. No, I am not interested in dating Lucas!"

"Just know Maya, that your life will eventually be constantly publicised and under scrutiny. You will have very little privacy, so whoever you choose to be with, make sure they understand what being in a relationship with you entails. Get used to it now. Whatever secrets he may have, they will eventually be unearthed and made known to the world. A monarch that keeps secrets is an untrustworthy monarch. You need to be an open book for your people to trust you and everyone close to you is included in that."

Maya fell silent, thinking about her friends who would be exposed to that. She didn't want to burden them, but it was true. Once she was outed as the future queen, that was that. Her life would forever be burdened with fame. This was a bigger deal than she had really thought about. Missy would hate to have her privacy breeched. And though Zay loved attention, she knew constantly being in the sight of cameras would get irritating after a while.

"Although by law, your Highness, she's not technically required to produce any heirs until she's thirty." Harper pointed out. "So she's got plenty of time before they have to have an official relationship or get married and consummate their—"

"Harper, knock it off! Shut up!"

April rapped her knuckles against the board. "In French!"

" _Ferme ta gueule_!"

April smiled proudly. "And in Dutch?"

"Uhhh… _Ik moet zeiken_?" she said, repeating something she'd seen when she'd been doing research on colloquial phrases. She thought it was the right phrase.

But when Harper started to laugh her ass off, and April's expression turned dark and furious, Maya knew she had definitely gotten it wrong.

"Where in the hell did you even pick up that phrase from?!" Harper cackled, holding her sides and gasping for breath. "Do you know what you just said?"

"Maya," April said stiffly.

Maya gulped loudly. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Ten page paper due tomorrow on the history of languages, transformations in modern speech, including slang and vulgarity that has found its way in modern vocabulary. In addition, include a section discussing the differences between written and spoken languages. I want you to choose a focus on either French, Dutch, or Italian. Tomorrow, you will be assigned a test on all the vocabulary in Lessons 1 through 5 for Dutch."

"Yeah, that seems about fair…" Maya conceded.

Harper continued to laugh her ass off.

~.~.~

"Hey kid, got a minute?" Harper asked as she stopped by Maya's locker.

Maya put away the rest of her books and glanced at her bodyguard. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in with you, see how you're adjusting to some of the more difficult tasks now that April has increased the difficulty of the lessons. How you holdin' up?"

"It's no more difficult than the stuff I've always had." Maya shrugged nonchalantly as she shut her locker. "Though she could cut back on the reading assignments. I already have to read several pages for my Lit class every night."

"I'll let her know. How are you feeling about the responsibilities you might have as future queen if you choose to accept the throne?"

Harper seemed a bit distracted—well, _maybe_ distracted since Maya couldn't see her eyes past the sunglasses, but she was standing pretty stiffly. Come to think of it, it was weird that Harper decided to ask her this question in the middle of a random school day. Usually she would pass by with a quip for Maya to get to class or she would just walk by with a wink, so this was new.

"What is this really about Harper…?" Maya asked suspiciously. "It's not like you to beat around the bush."

Harper chuckled, shifting her folders and binders to her other arm. "You caught me."

"So what's really up? Is April okay?"

"Truth is, her Highness hasn't mentioned it to you because she doesn't want to push you, but she's been getting a lot of pressure from some advisors. There is one noble family in particular, The Rizzos—I think she told you about the one your father slighted—that is trying to rally others into abolishing the monarchy altogether since April has yet to announce an heir."

"Seriously? What a bunch of assholes. Their prissy daughter doesn't get the throne so they resort to underhanded methods to get rid of it?"

"This is normal politics for Valderia." Harper gave her a serious look. "I'm not telling you this because I'm trying to push you into making a choice yet. But I think it's important to understand that no matter what decision you make, the situation will continue to be grave. If you choose to accept this path, just understand what you'll be walking into. If this is a deterrent, then the monarchy probably will end up abolished."

"Lose-lose, huh…"

"That's ruling and politics for you." Harper smirked. "Don't take it too much to heart. You have until May to decide anyway. I'll see you this afternoon. Be ready for more physical training."

Harper sauntered away to get to her classroom, and Maya sighed, resting her forehead on her locker. She'd come to school extremely early to get some quiet time to think on the bleachers—and no, it wasn't because the varsity baseball team did early morning runs on the track on Wednesdays—but now she had a lot more to think about. She appreciated that Harper was pretty candid about what would be expected of her, but she couldn't lie that this new revelation had put a little more pressure on her. It would be a bad situation to deal with either way, but no doubt if she rejected the throne, Valderia could be thrown in a state of turmoil. The future of the country was kind of contingent on whether she accepted the responsibilities.

"Maya, you okay?"

Maya gasped sharply and nearly spilled all the books in her hand when Riley's face suddenly appeared beside her.

Riley giggled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." Maya gave her a small smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She toyed with the hem of her cheerleading uniform top. "I was just… you know… umm, I was wondering if you wanted to go to a party with me?"

Maya frowned in confusion. Not only did Maya rarely go to the parties people at this school hosted—not to mention she wasn't normally invited—but Riley asking her when they were casual acquaintances who'd talked a few times was weird.

"Not really the partying type…" She glanced away uncomfortably. She felt like saying no would break Riley's spirit.

"I figured, but I thought it could be fun if we went. My friends told me about the birthday party at Darren James' place, and Elaine said I should invite you. I couldn't help but overhear your friends teasing you about Josh one time, and he's good friends with Darren, so he'll definitely be at the party. This could be your chance to talk to him."

On the one hand, it would be full of Pops and other people Maya didn't hang out with, but on the other, she could use it as an opportunity to talk to Josh a bit more. Plus she had noticed that some of the Pops said hi to her in the hallways more often, and she did get compliments on her jewellery and hair. And the fact that Elaine Mabrey, one of the top dogs of their school, wanted Maya to come to the party was pretty huge.

"You don't have to decide right now. The party is next Saturday, and if you want to go, just text me." Riley dug into her clutch and pulled out a fancy, rose scented business card. There was purple embroidery on the border and the words—her name, phone number, and address—were monogrammed in gold. "My number's on the card."

"You have your own business cards?" Maya wasn't sure whether to be exasperated or laugh her frickin pants off, but Riley's embarrassed expression stayed her laughter.

She laughed nervously, her cheeks tinged with a red blush. "My mom and dad say as a burgeoning adult, I need to get used to presenting myself like a professional."

"…Right." Some parents were on a whole other calibre of weird, and Maya thought her own mom was wacky.

"Umm… Maya?" Riley asked shyly. "You're friends with Lucas, right?"

"Uh, yeah. More or less." Though they hadn't really hung out in a while.

Varsity baseball pre-season had officially started, and his free time had gone way down. That coupled with the fact that they weren't really talking as much as before made it feel like they were drifting apart. And whenever she thought they were drifting, Maya felt a pang of loneliness in her chest which was weird because she'd only known him a few months, yet the thought of them not being close made her heart hurt. Before she'd realised it, Lucas had become a fixture in her life, and she didn't want him not to be one, no matter how dorky he was. She figured it had a lot to do with how grounded and stable he was. He was kind of her rock, especially since every aspect of her life had started to get crazy full of turmoil.

"Do you think, if you asked him," Riley twiddled her thumbs, her cheeks turning red, "he could come to the party too?"

Maya stared at Riley, feeling uneasy by that sparkly eyed look on her face. Riley clearly had a crush on him, and the prospect displeased Maya. "That's not really his scene. He's not much of a partier. He does like small hangouts though."

"What is he like when you guys hang out?"

"He's uh, kind of dorky. He cracks lame jokes, but you can't help but laugh because it's just so stupid. And he's a really nice guy. Plus he does this adorable squinty eye thing when he laughs, and he always has something encouraging to say so his support is pretty nice to have. He's a forgiver, even when you're a total bitch to him, and he listens really well. Plus there's the fact that he's always so confused by city things and is always asking if the things that happen are because it's a New York thing. It's actually kind of cute how confused he is by life here even though he's been here for five months. And he's _such_ a nerd even if he doesn't seem like it. He used to be super obsessed with Star Wars, and he claims he's not anymore, but I swear I've seen him use a Star Wars pen. I bet he even has Star Wars boxers. And he always checks up on you to make sure you're okay when your mood is down, like this one time he could tell I was stressed so he brought me to a batting cage so I could release aggression and it was just really sweet… of him…"

Maya tapered off when she realised she'd been going on and on about Lucas to the point that Riley was staring at her with a raised brow. Her face flamed with heat and she awkwardly cleared her throat, staring at the ground and trying not to show how embarrassed she was. She'd been gushing about him like some sort of fangirl.

"Uh, yeah, he's alright," Maya said with a shrug. "He's pretty easy to talk to."

"Okay! And yeah, one of our elective classes had us working on a project together and he was super friendly," Riley said cheerfully. "He sounds really sweet plus he's so cute, like a fairy tale prince. I really want to get to know him better."

"You'll probably get that chance…" Maya muttered intelligibly.

She didn't see why he wouldn't want to get to know Riley better. She was pretty much perfect, Maya wouldn't be surprised if he would want to have the most perfect girl as his girlfriend. And she seemed genuine. Lucas probably would like her since he was such a genuine guy too. With the whole peppy cheerleader thing Riley had going for herself, she was clearly one of those girls who could be effortlessly cute without having to constantly remind herself to sit with her legs closed or to smile in public or brush her hair or pin cute little ribbons to it. Was that Lucas' type?

Missy and Zay showed up sauntering down the hall before Riley could respond. Most early arrivers to school were starting to show up now and filling the hallways. One of Riley's teammates called out her name from down the hallway where a bunch of cheerleaders were beginning to gather.

"Oh, I have to go. Have a nice day, you three!" Riley scampered off to go join the pack of cheerleaders at the end of the hall.

"So you're talking to Little Miss Sunshine now? What did she want from you?" Missy asked, jabbing Maya with her elbow.

"She asked about Lucas. And she's actually kind of nice, you know?"

Maya decided not to tell Missy and Zay about the party. She already felt like they didn't approve of her change in clothes and how busy she was. And Maya couldn't help but feel like if they found out about this Pop party she might be going to, they would give her grief about the attention she'd been accepting from the popular kids.

Zay snorted. "What's this? Maya is sympathetic to a Pop?"

"I know, it sounds weird, even to me. But she's not really like the other jerks. To be honest, I think she's lonely…"

After all, she kept mentioning how fun it would seem to hang out with Maya and her friends. More than once she'd made a comment like that. It was starting to make Maya wonder if Riley wasn't really enjoying school with her friends in the first place. But when Maya glanced at Missy and Zay, they were frowning at her like she was spewing nonsense.

" _Riley_? Riley Matthews. She is literally friends with everyone."

"I know it seems like it would be the opposite, but I don't know…" She didn't know what Riley wanted, but what she knew for sure was that the girl acted a little strange sometimes.

"Fine, we get it. Anyway, we came to remind you not to be late next Saturday night, Maya. You hadn't mentioned anything so we were a bit concerned."

Maya's eyes widened as she stared at them. Next Saturday night? Were they going to the party then?

"Zay's New York City Ballet audition for a role in Swan Lake, Maya." Missy gave her a raised brow when she didn't respond. "It's next Saturday night. Don't tell me you forgot."

It was the day of the party. She'd completely forgotten about Zay's audition. Usually, she had it locked in the back of her mind and never needed to write it down to keep up with it, but all these lessons were throwing her off, not to mention the sheer amount of things she'd had to keep organised in her head.

"It slipped my mind. What are the to know facts?"

"My audition starts at nine thirty. Don't be late, alright?" Zay said with a grin. "Oh, but come at nine fifteen, otherwise I can't sneak you in to watch. Back entrance."

Maya figured she could make a quick appearance at Josh's party early and then she could hurry and head to the recital. She just had to make sure she didn't get too caught up talking with any one person.

"I'll be there. Promise."

~.~.~

"Maya, don't forget your umbrella," April said as she exited her office with Maya's—well, really Zay's mom's—midnight blue umbrella.

"Thanks, April."

Maya took it as she zipped up her rain jacket and prepared to go home. Harper didn't ride in the rain to protect her leather seats so Maya was waiting for the driver to take her home once he arrived. Harper had had to leave for some bodyguard business regarding training of new recruits, so Maya had just been watching the rain outside on the patio with April. Maya felt pretty comfortable with April now. Maybe it was the residual effects from the banquets and the small, but poignant moments they'd had talking to each other and spending time with each other, but Maya honestly could say that her opinion of April had changed to someone Maya could see herself approaching as a close family member.

"This is an amazing view…" Maya said. If she had more time to paint, it would have been awesome to just paint all the roses and the view of the garden from the balcony. "Do you ever get a chance to relax and enjoy it when you're not busy with work?"

"Unfortunately, a job like being queen of a country doesn't allow for much downtime." April chortled. "But I'm making an exception just for you, my dear."

"I can't imagine having a job 365 days of the year with no downtime. Not gonna lie, that's a little daunting."

"Yes, it can be a little difficult, but there are definite perks to the job. The thing about ruling is that you have to love it. You have to love and care for your people. And you have to remember that every day, otherwise you won't be able to handle the job." April responded in a measured tone. "You know, Maya. You're doing very well."

Maya glanced at her in confusion. "Umm, thanks? But why the sudden praise, not that it's unwelcome or anything. Feel free to compliment me anytime you want."

"I just wanted to let you know that the date of the Valderian Independence Day ball here at the embassy has been officially set for May 26th. On that day, your unveiling as princess is to take place, and that will also be the day that you will be expected to announce yourself publically as the heir to the throne."

April wasn't really looking at her directly, and Maya knew why. It was time for her to start deciding if she was accepting the position. Officially. Maya's smile dropped as her stomach twisted, but April must have seen her expression change because she quickly gave Maya a reassuring smile.

"Maya, you have months before I need your decision, but I wanted you to understand that this arrangement," she gestured between the both of them, "the princess lessons, aren't indefinite. I'm planning your final to be in the second week of May."

"Okay. I'll think about my decision." Although just the very thought made her nearly break out in a cold sweat.

April rubbed her back gently, before pointing out the driver approaching the front of the driveway. "Take your time, Maya. I will see you next week."

Maya bid April farewell with a quick hug before heading out to the car to get back home.

She had a huge decision and one that she needed to think about carefully. But it was difficult to make sense of her thoughts. May was fast approaching. Before she knew it, this term had flown by and they were already nearing March. Going to the lessons had become routine for Maya, and she'd been having fun with it, but she'd forgotten about what they were for and what was to come at the end of the tunnel. This wasn't some light decision she had to make. If she accepted, she was going to end up in a totally other country as the queen, living a public life for the rest of her life. Her whole life was going to change.

When Maya got home, Katy was sewing up a hole in her work uniform while she was watching some stupid reality TV show. It was a breath of fresh air for Maya to come back home to something she was used to. But when she thought of having to give that up and never being able to return back home to her humble apartment to her mother watching TV while something simmered on the stove, it made her heart squeeze in her chest.

"Mom…" Maya said quietly, plopping down on the couch next to her mom and curling up beside her.

Katy set down her craft and paid her all of her attention. "Maya, you look like you're drained. Was the lesson hard today?"

"It was fine. But April told me the date was set for the Valderian Independence Ball. I have until the second week of May to decide if I want to be unveiled."

"Do you think you're ready?" Katy asked carefully.

"I honestly don't know." Maya stared blankly at the TV screen where one guy was getting into an argument with one of the other women. "I'm scared, Mom."

She was terrified of losing the life she'd always known. She was terrified of never being able to be close to anyone because of the invasion of privacy a friendship with her entailed. She was terrified of losing the simplicity of her life, watching movies with her mother, playing video games with Zay, going shopping with Missy. All of that would be gone in a flash, only to be replaced by lights, cameras, neverending makeup, hair, and nail appointments, gowns galore and pinchy heels. The part of her that grew up poor was excited about finally having a life where she didn't have to have a parttime job so they wouldn't have to choose between groceries or electricity. But no matter how roughly she'd grown up, she'd lived the best of her life in this place, and the experiences helped her to become the person she was today. She'd grown fond of her life in some ways. Changing all that in one day was a bit upsetting.

"You know, you've spent months preparing for this and learning as much as you can about being a princess. You've nearly killed yourself studying and put so much effort into doing your best for this," Katy said, wrapping an arm around Maya's shoulders and giving her a comforting squeeze. "You've thrived and even April believes that you have blossomed. Your grandma does not seem like the kind to give random compliments to anyone unless they've earned it, don't you think?"

"Well, true… but she could just be saying that to boost my confidence."

"Maya, anyone who looks at you will say that you have blossomed. You're wise and intelligent as you always were, but now it's coupled with this elegance and an aura of fierce leadership. You have a presence about you that is fascinating to watch. You're growing into a fine, young woman and I know and April knows and Harper knows that leaving Valderia in your hands will be just fine. You just need to be confident."

"Thanks, Mom…" Maya rested her head on the crook of Katy's shoulder and neck. "You're not just saying that because you want to live in riches galore, right?"

"There's riches galore involved in this? I didn't know."

Maya chuckled, nudging her in the ribs.

"You have time. Just give it time, baby girl." Katy kissed her forehead gently as she weaved her fingers slowly through Maya's hair. "Whatever decision you make, no one's going to resent you for it. But make sure you make the decision for yourself and not for someone else. There's no pressure."

How was she supposed to make any decisions when it always felt like she was under pressure no matter which direction she turned? She had at most two and a half months, if even that, which was definitely starting to make her anxious. Maya thought being normal was overrated to an extent, but deep down, there was a part of her that really did wish she could just be a normal girl going to school, going to parties and dates, hanging out with her friends, just normal stuff. Being a princess was fun, but Maya was nervous about losing the simple life she'd been able to spend with the people she cared about.

~.~.~

Maya told herself that maybe going to this party was a stupid idea, but she needed a break from all the responsibilities and expectations people had for her. She just wanted to have fun at a party as if she was just Maya the sixteen year old girl. Not Maya the next princess in line to take the throne. So she'd gotten all dolled up, and she and Riley had taken an Uber to get to Darren's house.

Maya wandered around the first floor of the house, looking for Riley. They'd gotten separated after the brunette had gone to the bathroom, and since Maya didn't know anyone here, she was just kind of hanging around the wall, watching people. There were mostly seniors at this party, a few juniors, but it was loud and obnoxious with people yelling and screaming and others dancing raunchily in the living room. It honestly wasn't Maya's scene and the more the night went on the more uncomfortable she was beginning to feel. She'd only stay for a few more minutes and then she'd tell Riley she was leaving. Besides, Zay's audition was at nine thirty, and Maya would have to leave soon if she wanted to get there on time.

Well, she would have, if she hadn't made eye contact with Josh from across the room.

"Glad to see you here, Maya," he said as he approached.

He had a loopy grin on his face and he was stumbling a bit, but his gaze was directly on her. Well, on her legs, but he'd gotten her name right.

"Uh, hi Josh," she said a bit shyly, tucking her hair behind her ears bashfully and wishing she'd gone to the bathroom with Riley to make sure her makeup was all set and in place. This was her long awaited moment to shine with Josh, and she wasn't prepared. "It's good to see you."

He set his arm beside her head and leaned in close until he was practically boxing her in. His crooked smirk grew a bit smarmy. "I like that dress on you. It's sexy."

Maya's cheeks burned, and she felt her heart jump in her chest from the look in his sparkling blue eyes. She couldn't believe her luck. Josh Matthews— _the_ Josh Matthews—found her attractive. And not even just attractive, but sexy.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure!"

He gave her his red solo cup and Maya drank a little bit of it to occupy her mouth before she said something stupid. She was being a little too enthusiastic. She had to play it cool. But the drink tasted awful and had a bitter aftertaste, not to mention it burned her throat a little as she swallowed it.

Maya's nose wrinkled in disgust, and she pushed the drink back into his hands. "What's in this?"

"Nothing really. I think it's vodka," Josh responded, his voice slurred. He was looking down the front of her dress now.

Maya frowned, shifting a bit uncomfortably. "I'm sixteen, though."

He shrugged and tossed back the rest of it like he was drinking water. "I started young too. Besides, no one here cares. Darren's parents aren't home anyway. Free reign on the liquor cabinet."

"Oh…"

Well that explained why all the teens were acting crazy in this house. This was the environment that her mother had forcibly pulled her out of that she would have fallen into. Her uneasy feeling grew.

"Are you bored?" he asked. "Couldn't help notice you standing by the wall by yourself."

"Umm, it's just, I'd rather not be dancing or down here… It's kind of noisy and I'm not really a drinker, so…"

"You know what, you're right," Josh said, pressing his lips against her ear as he spoke. His hot breath brushing against her skin made goosebumps rise on her skin. She leaned away a bit. "You want to talk somewhere private? Get to know each other better?"

"Sure," This _was_ a chance to show him her good points.

Maya let him take her hand and guide her through the house. Only in her dreams had this situation ever happened. She'd always imagined what her conversation with Josh would be like when they finally got a chance to get to know each other better. But her brows furrowed when instead of guiding her to the lounge room further down the hall with less people, he led her up the stairs to the quiet second floor. Josh opened up a door to an empty guest bedroom and took her inside as he flipped on the lights.

He plopped down on the edge of a plush bed and patted the spot beside him encouragingly with a smile. Maya sat down, a little confused why they had to go to a room on the second floor just to talk. Granted, she really couldn't hear the music anymore though.

"It's quiet in here," Josh said by way of explanation, although his eyes were a bit glazed over, and he looked distracted. "So how are you? How's your week been?"

"Well, it's fine, except… I've been having a difficult time handling my life, you know? Sometimes there are just so many responsibilities that I have that it sometimes feels like I'm not even living a life for me, you know? I just want to be…"

She tapered off when she realised as she spoke, Josh was leaning closer and closer. He'd put his hand on her thigh and was stroking the skin right where the hem of her skirt was.

Maya chewed on her lower lip nervously. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just keep talking."

"…umm, well I was just saying I have a lot to do so it's been a bit of a—"

Her words were cut off when Josh kissed her, planting his lips on hers in a wet, sloppy kiss. She jumped in surprise, nearly gasping from the unexpected action. It was her very first kiss ever. She thought it would be more exciting, but she felt nothing. There were no fireworks, her heart wasn't threatening to jump out of her chest, no butterflies. In fact, it just felt kind of weird, and Josh tasted like that disgusting vodka punch he'd let her try.

Maya pulled away from him awkwardly. His eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring into gorgeous crystal blue giving her a heated look of desire, but instead of a thrill coursing through her body, she felt anxious with his gaze. And something akin to disgust was running through her mind.

"What's wrong, baby?"

She fought not to gag at the pet name. "Sorry… That was my first kiss. I don't know if I'm doing it right."

"Relax," he murmured, his eyes drifting to her lips again. "I'll take care of it."

Josh kissed her again, and this time, she tried to reciprocate, moving her mouth with his and trying to get into it. His tongue snaked its way between her lips, stroking her own tongue and dancing around her mouth. It felt like there was some wet worm leaving a trail of slobber on and in her mouth, but she let him keep kissing her. Maybe this was what it was supposed to be like at first, and then it would get better. But if this was what kissing was like, she wasn't sure she would ever want to again. It was pretty gross.

When Josh's hand trailed under her dress and his fingers skimmed the waistband of her underwear, Maya leaned away, breaking the kiss abruptly with a sharp inhale. This felt wrong.

" _Seriously_." Maya pulled his hand out from under her skirt. "What are you doing?"

He smirked, trying to slide his hand back under her dress. "Just relax. I'm making all your dreams come true."

All her dreams? What?

Maya frowned and shoved his hand away. "I just think this is going a little too fast, don't you think? What happened to just talking?"

Josh was looking pretty ticked off. "Talking? Who said anything about that?"

"You did. In fact, you asked me if I wanted to talk somewhere private so we could get to know each other better."

"Yeah, but that was just so we could have some alone time. That's what we always say when we want to hook up. I mean, that's why you said yes, isn't it?" He snorted derisively. Maya's nose wrinkled, and Josh rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon. It's obvious you want me. It's fine. It'll be a quick in-out so we can get it out of our systems. Hurry up and get naked because Trudy Lincoln is here and I want to win the bet."

Maya was appalled by his proposition, but even more so, the fact that he thought she would just hop into bed with him when she didn't even know him. And suddenly, everything Missy had said about Josh was right. He was definitely not the kind of guy she should be going after.

He was an ass. And she'd been blinded by some stupid crush when she barely knew him. Hell, what did she even like about him other than his looks? She'd never really liked _him_. And if she had known what kind of guy he was, she definitely wouldn't have ever kept that stupid crush on him. She wasted these years crushing on him. On top of that, he had a girlfriend, but he was planning on hooking up with all these random girls.

At her silence, Josh leaned over and tried to kiss her again, but Maya covered his mouth with the palm of her hand and pushed him away from her.

She shot up from the bed and smoothed the skirt of her dress down. "I should have never listened to you. Plus you have a _girlfriend_! What was I thinking?"

"We're not exclusive."

Maya felt queasy. She needed to leave this party. _Now_.

With a disappointed shake of her head, she rushed out of the room and hurried back downstairs two steps at a time. She just wanted to get out of this stupid party. She would let Riley know that she wanted to leave now and see if the brunette wanted to go too. There was nothing good happening, and this definitely wasn't an environment she and Riley should have been at.

When she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, she saw Riley being harassed by one of the senior guys. He was blocking her from leaving, caging her against the kitchen counter and the poor girl looked like she was a few seconds from crying.

"Hey!" Maya yelled, rushing over to them and shoving the guy away from her. "Leave her alone!"

He turned and sneered at them in irritation. "Go away, you loser. I was just talking to her."

"Really? Because it sure as hell didn't look that way to me." Maya stood directly in between Riley and the guy, planting her hands on her hips and glowering up at him. "You're making her nervous so back off."

He scoffed. "Who the fuck invited you dweebs? Didn't you get the memo? This is a _hookup_ party. Why would you come here if you weren't planning on hooking up with anyone?"

Riley's eyes went wide like saucers. "Wait, _what_?! My friends told me this was a birthday celebration!"

"Are you stupid?" He flung his hand behind him. "Look around."

Most everyone had pretty much found their partners by now. People were making out at all corners, against walls, on couches. With a sinking feeling, Maya suddenly got the sense that Riley really wasn't like her friends, because her friends were treacherous swine. They'd played her, and probably taken advantage of the girl's naïveté.

"Where are your friends, Riley?"

"I don't know! None of them are here."

"Of course they're not…" Maya turned to Riley, scratching her arm uneasily. "Listen, we need to go home. This isn't the party for us, and quite frankly, I'm feeling ill."

But the evening went from bad to worst in a matter of seconds.

Because before they even had the chance to leave, cops came and stopped the party. No one had been able to hear the sirens over the booming sound of the earsplitting music, and thus, when the loud announcement came that cops busted the party and to run, it was too late. All hell broke loose, and in the ensuing panic of all the teens, Maya and Riley somehow ended up face to face with the cops.

A handful of the people ended up getting taken back to the station for being minors because of the alcohol at the party. And unfortunately, she and Riley were of that group. Maya's blood was ice cold all the way to the station and as their names were being taken and their guardians called.

She was screwed.

She was so beyond screwed she couldn't think or speak or really do anything but sit staring off into space. She'd been arrested before, something she'd promised her mom would never happen again since she finally got out of all the bad stuff she'd been a part of when she was younger. This could absolutely screw up her entire record even worse.

Beside her, Riley was sobbing heavily, blubbering words of apology to the man taking their information and begging them not to send her to jail because she had to go to college. Then she'd started revealing every lie she'd ever told like taking a book from the library and lying to a teacher that she hadn't done her homework because her dog died. After calling her father, the cop told Riley that Mr. Matthews was going to drive and pick her up to take her home.

"Riley, calm down. You'll be fine," Maya muttered.

The girl seemed a notorious goody-goody. There was no way she'd ever done anything bad in her life, so something like this wouldn't put her in the red zone with her parents. Maya, on the other hand, would not be okay. Her mother hadn't sounded particularly happy on the phone, and with Maya's history of delinquency, it would be a lot harder to convince her she really hadn't been doing anything wrong. And on top of that, she hadn't even told her mother about going to the party. She couldn't imagine what was going through her mother's mind. Especially after all the efforts she'd made to prevent Maya from doing this very thing.

"You don't understand!" Riley hiccupped miserably as she cried into her hands. "I disappointed my parents! They'll be so upset!"

"Well at least your mom didn't threaten to kick you out when you graffitied a wall once…"

There was no way this little mess wouldn't get her in major trouble. This was so much worse.

She was so screwed.

~.~.~

Maya had been expecting a lecture from her mother when the cop brought her home to talk to her guardian, but what she had not been expecting was for _April_ of all people to be sitting on the couch with her mother in the living room, looking absolutely livid. She refused to look at Maya, and her eyes were stony and guarded as the cop explained to them both that Maya was being let off with a warning. Thankfully, because she had no alcohol in her system and her story seemed to check out, they weren't going to punish her for being in the environment. But the cop did bring up the graffiti incident and gave Maya a lecture that she had to be careful not to damage her record before she became an adult.

When he finally left, the living room was silent, the weight of April and Katy's gazes on Maya more than loud enough to make her uncomfortable. Maya was more terrified of April's reaction than her mother's, but from the disappointment in her grandmother's glare, she'd already messed up bad.

Maya took a deep breath. "Look, I know what this looks like—"

"Maya…" Katy interrupted her, her voice tight and eyes narrowed. Maya immediately quieted. "Why were you at that party? And above that, why didn't you tell me that you were going to the party? You promised me you would make a clean break from the bad behaviour!"

"Whatever you're thinking, I didn't do anything, Mom! I _promise_. I went to that party because I wanted to feel normal and talk to a guy I have a crush on. I know it sounds stupid, but that's literally it." Despite trying to keep from getting emotional, Maya's throat tightened, and her eyes welled with tears. "I didn't know it would be like that and if I did, I would have never gone in the first place. Mom, you know I've changed. I'm not the kind of kid who gets into bad stuff anymore. You have to believe me! I would never do anything to disappoint you like that! I was just about to leave when things went bad."

Katy sighed, but her gaze softened and she nodded. "I do believe you, but why didn't you tell me about the party?"

"I thought you wouldn't let me go since it was a senior party…" Maya was ashamed of herself. She'd been so stupid about everything. The party hadn't even been worth it and with this incident, she'd nearly broken her mom's trust in her.

"And you're right. I wouldn't have let you go. I'm not pleased about this, Maya."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry is not enough for this!" April suddenly barked, saying her first words to Maya since she'd gotten home. "How could you do this, Maya?"

"What?" Maya's gaze snapped to her. "I didn't _do_ anything."

"The arrest is on your record now. You cannot behave this way. It will reflect upon me since you are my heir!"

"Seriously? I told you I didn't do anything! I'm telling the truth. And if the record bothers you so much, just get it expunged!"

April ignored her. "I put so much work into you to make sure your tarnished reputation wouldn't make you an unworthy candidate. And now you want to throw it all away for some cheap thrills! No one would want a princess or queen with a juvenile record for delinquency, and it would be remiss of my duties as queen to allow a delinquent to take the throne!"

Maya's heart squeezed in her chest and this time, tears did slide down her cheeks. So that's what April thought, huh? That Maya wasn't worth it as a princess as long as she wasn't perfect? After all the work Maya had done, she had the nerve to say this. Maya had tried her damned hardest, and April had just acted as if after everything Maya wasn't worth teaching anymore because of one mistake. Maya had never asked for this. This wasn't fair at all!

"Oh what? You were looking for some nancy? Well too bad, _April_ ," Maya spat sharply as she rose to her feet. She didn't care that her face was blotchy and that she sounded like some blubbering idiot. "That's not me! And that's never going to be me! I'm a messy, rule-breaking screw up who apparently can't do anything right. Stop trying to push this image of a perfect princess on me! I'm sick of this! If you want some demure princess to be your lackey for the throne, find someone else. I'm fed up! I liked my life before you barged in it and turned it upside down! Just go back home and leave me the hell alone! Why did you even call her about this, Mom?! She hasn't been in my life for fifteen fucking years. I don't consider her family so my private business is none of hers!"

Maya stormed off angrily, her shoulders beginning to shake with sobs she desperately wanted to hide. She never asked to be primped and plucked about and tweezed and prodded to be molded into a princess. Maya just wanted to be herself. She was sick of her life being pulled around and dictated by everything. She was sick of everything going haywire and crazy. She was sick of everything always going wrong for her. She wanted to lash out at someone— _anyone_ —for her life being the colossal mess it'd become.

Realising she'd left her cellphone in the living room, she walked back, hoping to grab it quickly and then lock herself in her room. When she got there though, she overheard Katy and April talking.

"She doesn't mean it, you know?" Katy said gently.

"I know she doesn't." April sat up straighter, but she looked unhappy and pained. "But she has acted much too inappropriately."

Katy sighed, leaning back against the cushions. "She's a girl, April. A teenage girl at that. And she's a good one. She's allowed to make mistakes."

"Not as the future queen of Valderia, she's not."

"But she's _Maya_ first and foremost. You can't be so hard on her. This is all still new and frightening to her. You can't tell me when you were eleven that you weren't absolutely terrified when you suddenly became the queen. All the people ordering you around, everyone watching your every move, waiting for you to mess up, people yelling at you for every little mistake?"

"I understand your point, Katy. But it's _because_ she's so new to this that I'm hard on her." April stared down at her hands, for the first time ever, looking vulnerable and defeated. And for the first time looking like a tired old woman who'd dealt with too much in life. "If I'm not, she'll get torn apart in this new world. Ruling an entire country is not easy. Especially ruling from such a young age. It breaks you year after year. She needs to be prepared. _I_ need to prepare her. Otherwise I've failed to do the one thing I was supposed to do. I can't afford to be a grandmother first. Not until I've finished my task."

Maya had heard enough. She turned on her heel and went straight back to her room, her heart shattering into pieces. She started to cry the tears she'd been fighting for so many years. Angry tears at her father for not being there, for ditching her family, for never telling her who she really was, for subjecting her to a life of despair, for deserting her mom, for hurting Katy, for ruining both their lives by leaving them. For herself for thinking she could ever be a princess, for thinking she could ever be popular, for trying to change herself for a fraction of time, for Lucas and Missy and Zay and all the other people who would be subjected to the bullshit she would have to go through because of the fact that she was a princess.

She was never good enough.

Why was nothing in her life in her control?

She _hated_ it. She hated the mess her life had become.

~.~.~

When Maya woke up in the morning, her head was pounding slightly from crying herself to sleep. The skin under her eyes felt puffy and her nose was stuffed up. Her ferret Ginger was resting heavily on her stomach.

"You're getting fat, Ginge…" She stroked her fur absentmindedly.

Maya opened her eyes groggily to find her cellphone on her desk and her body wrapped up in her covers. Katy must have brought her stuff to her room sometime last night and tucked her under the covers since all Maya remembered was falling asleep as she cried in her pillow.

Yawning, she took her phone to check the time. She had about thirty minutes before it was time to get up and start getting ready for school. Catching those last few rays of sleep would help her get rid of the burgeoning headache from her stress.

"Oh wait…" she chuckled to herself. "It's Sunday."

Maybe it would be better for her to just sleep in the whole day. She didn't know how the rest of Katy's conversation with April went, but she had no intention of finding out. She would lounge around all day. Maybe call Zay and ask if he wanted to come over to…

And Maya sat up with a gasp.

Zay's audition.

She'd missed it _entirely_.

Maya fumbled around with her phone to open it and see if she missed any text or calls, but there were none. Nor were there any texts from Zay or Missy. She called Zay and Missy several times to no answer and even left them multiple texts in hopes that they might decide to respond, but neither replied. This could not be good. She'd promised she'd be at the audition.

She would explain it all in person tomorrow at school. If they heard what happened with the party and the cops, she was sure it'd be okay.

But that growing feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't unclench. It felt like the calm before a storm.

Why did she feel that things were about to get horrendously messed up in her life? After all, whenever one thing fell apart, the others seemed to all join in to get in on the action.

"I'll explain tomorrow…" she decided, laying back in bed and trying to get back to sleep.

~.~.~

She'd gotten to school first thing early Monday morning to find Missy and Zay to explain, but they weren't at their usual hangout spot near the bleachers. They weren't in any of their usual places by the lockers either or the picnic benches near the front of the school. She thought maybe they were late to school so she stuck around the lockers hoping one or both of them would run in and she could catch up to them, but by the time two minutes were left until homeroom and still no sight of them, she gave up and headed to the gym on the second floor.

She walked into homeroom by herself and to her unease, it seemed like more than half of her year was staring at her. Some were snickering and whispering, while others were giving her dirty looks. She didn't understand what was going on, so she rushed to her seat and decided to catch up to her friends before they went to first period. Usually, during homeroom, Missy would keep turning around and sticking her tongue playfully at Maya and they made a game of making faces at each other, but today, Missy diligently faced the front the entire time.

The dean of their class addressed them and shared the announcements and took roll call. Maya's legs jiggled the whole time, but finally, he dismissed them for their classes. Maya shot up from her seat and chased after Zay and Missy who had left. She almost got stuck in the crowd of sophomores heading to the lockers.

"Hey! Zay, Missy! Wait up." Maya caught up to them by the senior lockers and clasped her hands together in apology. "Zay, I am _so_ sorry about missing your audition but—"

"Shove that apology up your ass, Maya." Missy was giving her one of her patented dirty looks reserved for scum and people she couldn't stand. "We don't care."

"Thanks for ditching my important audition to go party with the Pops." Zay rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "Some friend you are…"

"Wait, I can explain about the party!"

Missy crossed her arms in front of her chest and rose a brow. "Explain what exactly? We know all we need to know. We heard about your little appearance at Darren's party."

"I guess being popular is more important to you than your friendships with us. Let's go, Missy."

Maya sighed. "Guys, it wasn't like that. I was really going to come to the audition but I got arrested at the party and everything went to shit."

"Enough with the dumb excuses! You know, every time you've treated us like crap, you've always had some ridiculous excuse. We don't buy it anymore, Maya. Why can't you ever just tell us the truth?!"

"It _is_ the truth!"

"Even if it is the truth, why did you hide the fact that you were going to go to the party then?" Missy nearly shouted, her eyes glittering with hurt. "You could have just mentioned that you were invited in passing. Why'd you keep it a secret, huh? What did you think, your loser friends would try to come with you or something? Wow, I knew you could be a bitch if you wanted to be, but this is a whole new side to you."

"Guys, I'm telling you it really wasn't like that. Just _listen_ to me! I have proof."

"We said we don't care, Maya." Missy growled. "Shut up with your excuses."

"Zay, c'mon." Maya pleaded with him. "You know I wouldn't do that to you on purpose."

Zay looked away from her. "I have nothing to say to you either, Maya. You made your choice on what was more important. So we've made ours."

Missy sneered at her. "We've had enough of your fake friend behaviour. Maya, you've changed. All of a sudden you look different, you get a little popular and then you decide to ditch us. Not cool. I thought you were better than that, but you're just as bad as the other trash. You've ignored our calls for _months_ , 'forgotten' to text us or call us back, stopped sharing things with us, missed my party, didn't show up to dinner, and you haven't come over to any of our places in forever. All because you're vaguely _busy_. But this is the last straw. I bet you've been hanging out with the Pops forever and lying to us. Enjoy your popularity while it lasts, Maya, because you sure as hell won't have any friends once they ditch you. And trust me, they will. All it takes is one ' _defect'_. I would know."

They turned without another word as Maya gaped after them, her throat tightening painfully. As if that wasn't bad enough, the seniors had gotten out of homeroom and some of those girls were also glaring at her and snickering in the hallway. Kyra Landon brushed by Maya and knocked into her shoulder and Maya stumbled into the lockers. Her face burned red as people in the hallways sneered at her.

She understood Missy and Zay being mad at her, but what was it with everyone else looking at her like she was something they scraped off their shoes? For the first time in a long time, Maya felt truly alone, her confidence crumbling in her fingers from her friends deciding to ditch her.

Today was going to suck… _Royally_.

~.~.~

Maya was glad that the recent rainy weather had brought about a cold front in the city. Most people decided to eat lunch inside the building, so the bleachers were completely free for Maya to finally eat her lunch in peace. It was definitely cold, but Maya considered it infinitely warmer than the frosty climate inside. No more sneers and dirty looks from people in the school, and she wouldn't have to feel the need to cry since she wouldn't see Zay and Missy hanging out without her. She had some classes with them, but they'd changed seats for the day and ignored her.

And it hurt.

It hurt so bad, and part of Maya wondered if this was exactly what she deserved for the flaky way she'd been treating them recently. Once again, she was reminded that this whole issue had happened because of how badly she'd handled the dumb princess ordeal from day one. At this point, Maya didn't even feel she deserved to be a princess at all. April hated her. Zay and Missy hated her. Lucas probably hated her. She was all sorts of mess, and it was no wonder her relationships with everyone she knew kept getting screwed up. Why would she deserve to be a princess when she continued to make things in other people's lives worse? She would destroy the country with her inability to manage conflicts.

Maya distractedly mixed her spaghetti and sauce on her plate, truly feeling the painful loneliness of her first few weeks of freshman year once again. It felt even worse though because she'd had good friends and then she wrecked it all.

She heard clanging on the bleacher stairs behind her and glanced over her shoulder in hopes that maybe Zay or Missy decided to forgive her and join her, but she was actually surprised to see Riley with her lunch tray.

"Riley?" Maya asked as the brunette approached her. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, and she looked like she'd been crying all afternoon. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you with your friends?"

Riley sniffled, though she gave Maya a watery smile as she plopped down beside her. "They said I couldn't sit with them because they can't have a criminal and someone who got arrested making their group look bad. They'll let me know when I can sit with them again after things cool down."

So that meant never, and judging by the hurt look on Riley's face, she knew it too. She'd gotten kicked out of her group, just like Missy had gotten kicked out of her group the year before. But considering the type of stuck up girls that were in Riley's group, Maya wasn't particularly surprised.

"I have to leave after lunch for a dentist's appointment, but I wanted to find you first."

"Why?" Maya wasn't in any particular mood to talk to anyone. Not when her life was such a huge mess.

"I wanted to apologise for inviting you to the party. I thought it would be fun for us to go to… Maybe even become friends. Farkle told me you were really cool to hang out with at all those other banquets you both have gone to. You seemed like you'd be a real friend to have. You're much nicer than Elaine and Corina."

Real friend her ass. Maya had alienated the people she cared about the most and lost her best friends.

"Those friends of yours are real assholes."

An unhappy pout replaced the tiny smile on Riley's face. "I've never really fit in with them. Some of the stuff they say and do is so wrong. I can't believe anyone would think that kind of behaviour is acceptable. You know, I told them about my crush on Lucas and then they decided to make sure any girl who was even close to him should be 'eliminated'. They started targeting you at dodgeball and you got hit in the face that day. I didn't like it."

Maya tried not to flinch at the pang of annoyance she felt at that mention of Elaine's bitchiness during gym. (Although what actually bothered her was Riley's casual mention of her crush). "I remember that day…"

"Anyway, thank you for looking out for me at the party. Matt has been hitting on me for a while and wouldn't leave me alone."

"Riley, you're genuinely nice." Maya sighed, setting her tray on the seat in front of her. There was no way she would be able to eat anything right now. Her appetite was gone talking about all these relationship issues. "Why do you hang out with such crappy people?"

"I don't know. I've been at this school since I was four. They're the only people I've ever been friends with."

"Okay, I'll tell you what. If you ever want to come join my group of friends, it's cool. Well, my old group. I don't know if they'll talk to me again."

Riley smiled happily. "I would very much like that. And they'll talk to you again. You're a really nice, caring person, Maya."

"Yeah right. I alienated my friends by trying to be someone I'm not, and now they won't talk to me." She scoffed, rolling her eyes to try to fight her tears and her urge to cry. "I just don't know how they found out about the party. I thought these kind of things were chill and kept on the down low."

Riley's brows furrowed in confusion. "You mean you haven't heard the rumours?"

Maya's stomach dropped down to her feet. "…What rumours?"

"Well… I didn't hear the full version so it may have been a little different, but Josh Matthews has been spreading around a rumour to everyone that you got passed around by all the senior guys at the party on Saturday night. I thought you just didn't care about the dumb rumours and were being brave."

Her heart nearly stopped. " _What_?"

She nodded apologetically. "I told them to stop spreading rumours and that they aren't true, but they ignored me. Some of the girls in the bathroom were talking about making your life hell for hooking up with their boyfriends."

"But I _didn't_!"

Now she knew why everyone kept giving her these awful looks during school. This was so fucked up. She was going to kill him. Her mom had told her not to get in trouble, but this would be the last time. She would beat the crap out of him and even if it got her expelled, there was no way she was going to let this jerk ruin her life over some trashy rumour.

Maya stood up. "Where is he?"

Riley looked frightened. "Cafeteria."

Maya bounded down the bleacher steps to get to the dining room, Riley behind her as they rushed over there. She didn't know how she would confront him when she got there, but most of her was telling her to just give him a good old right hook to the side of his face. She hadn't fought in a couple years, but it wasn't like she had forgotten all her delinquent habits.

But when they got to the cafeteria, there was already some sort of commotion going on. The whole room was dead silent, staring at a confrontation close to the side tables.

Lucas was standing beside Josh's table of seniors with Missy and Zay. Flanking the three was Yindra, Billy, Jade, and Wyatt. They all looked pretty pissed off, and Lucas had Josh's collar in his hand. To her surprise, Lucas looked angrier than she'd ever seen him before. He looked like he was about to beat the everliving snot out of Josh any second.

"What's going on…?" Riley whispered.

"Maya has way more class than to ever hook up with you trash!" Missy yelled as she flipped him off.

"You have no idea who the hell you're dealing with here. Don't you dare sully my best friend's name!" Zay yelled too, his fists clenched in fury.

Maya's heart lurched a bit in her chest, and her eyes widened when she realised they were defending her. In spite of how horrible she'd been to them, they still cared enough to help support her in this stupid rumour.

"Leave her the hell alone." Lucas growled. "Or you'll have us to deal with."

"Geez calm down, you losers." Josh scoffed in annoyance. He pulled Lucas' hands off his shirt and rolled his eyes. "It was just a damn joke."

"Ruining someone's reputation is just a joke to you?!" Lucas said incredulously. "You have no right!"

Missy's face was a livid, blotchy red and she kept clawing her hands like she wanted to wring Josh's neck. "I always knew you were a prick, but what kind of jackass are you?!"

"Whatever. It's not like anyone cares anyway."

" _We_ care." Zay repeated firmly. "And when you mess with one of us, you mess with _all_ of us."

Yindra nodded, her hands on her hips as she pointed an accusing finger at Josh. "I don't even know her that well yet, but Maya has been pretty cool to me. And even I want to kick your ass."

"Well what do you want me to do? _Apologise_ to her?" Josh said in a mocking voice, before snorting and snickering. His crony of friends also started to laugh along with him. "Let's go guys. What a bunch of dweebs."

The senior guys stood up to leave and followed Josh as they made their way out of the cafeteria.

Maya leaned against the door frame, smiling to herself, tears she didn't realise had pooled in her eyes falling down her cheeks.

"Looks like they're still your group of friends after all." Riley nudged her gently.

Maya nodded, sniffling and trying to keep from breaking down into a mess of sobs and hiccups. Her heart was soaring and even though she'd been awful to all of them, it was nice to know they still had her back.

But Maya knew she had to apologise to several people and fix this mess. She wouldn't let it fester and rot. It was time for her to take charge of her life and get it back in order.

~.~.~

"Hey, Harper?" Maya said hesitantly as she walked up to the leather clad teacher heading out of the teacher's lounge with her folders in hand. "You think you could give me a ride to my lesson today?"

Harper rose a brow, looking both parts impressed and surprised. "I wouldn't have expected you to show considering what happened this weekend."

Maya smiled, though it somehow felt like a wince. "I made a promise to April. I intend to keep it, no matter what she thinks of me now. Although I can't imagine they're good things…"

"You'd be surprised…" Harper chuckled to herself as she took a sip from her mug of tea. "Yeah, I'll give you a ride. And also, don't worry about those rumours going around in school. I'll take care of it."

"Harper, killing someone is crime, you know?"

"Beating them up isn't."

Maya's eyes widened. She thought it was totally cool that Harper would go to such lengths, but she didn't want her to lose her job over this.

"I'm kidding. Sort of. …Maybe. Anyway, I'm Josh Matthews' Lit teacher and you're due for a public apology during the morning assembly on Wednesday otherwise, I might just have to contact his parents about his grades. Like I said, I'll take care of it so don't think you have to do something stupid or crazy like fight him. You getting expelled would be the straw that broke her Majesty's back."

"I promise I won't fight him." Provided he didn't do something else to piss her off. "Sort of. …Maybe."

"Wise ass. Oh, and Maya?"

"Yeah?"

Harper smiled, a genuine happy, cute little grin. "Glad to see you still being that responsible girl I know you've always been."

Maya couldn't help but return it. "Thanks, Harper."

~.~.~

It went without saying that Maya was nervous as all hell when she entered the office at the embassy. Harper refused to come in with her, so she was on her own. Maya almost half expected April to be sitting at her desk like that first day. She was sure April would dismiss her with barely a look or a word.

But April was sitting all lackadaisically on one of the lounge chairs, staring off into space as the cup of tea in her hands continued to grow colder. It was surprising to see the usually prim queen look so laid back and lethargic. Her gaze was wary, eyes wandering off into space as she idly traced the engraving on the side of the teacup. Whatever was April's deal was really screwing with her, because the woman looked exhausted. Like she hadn't slept for days.

Maya cleared her throat gently, but April's gaze still snapped to her like she'd been startled. April gasped softly and quickly rearranged herself in a proper position, setting the teacup down on the table and straightening up her outfit.

"Maya. I wasn't expecting you to come today."

"I made you a promise to take my lessons seriously. I wasn't going to disappoint you more than once."

"Oh. Well. I appreciate it." She turned away to look at the fireplace, but Maya didn't miss the smile on April's face.

"April, I wanted to say sorry. I lashed out at you horribly on Saturday and said some awful things. I know your concerns were valid. If my heir suddenly got arrested, I would be mad too."

"Yes, well… Maya, it's not on you. I should have trusted your word. I'm sorry for getting so furious at you. For saying something offensive when you've been doing your best." She fiddled with her monarch ring, looking thoroughly ashamed of herself. "I was too hard on you. You're young, and you have a lot of growing up to do. I guess it was just because you've made so much progress and hearing about your arrest made me disillusioned with the Maya _I'd_ been seeing. But I suppose if I had taken the time to know you for the past fifteen years, I could have seen more clearly how much of a good girl you had become."

Maya nearly winced at the reminder of the harsh words she'd given the woman. "Look, I said that out of anger. You didn't deserve—"

April cut her off with a gentle raise of her hand. "It's okay. What you said was true. I missed out on your life and came in and uprooted everything you've already established. Of course you would be conflicted. For me, life as a princess was all I knew. But you? You have a whole other life _here_. A good one that made you happy that I basically forced you to abandon. That's why I decided if you truly have had enough of this intrusion in your life, I can end these official lessons for good. I will return to Valderia and figure something out. I'll let you lead your normal life."

It must have taken her a long time to truly decide to present that as an option. Maya knew just how much this throne deal meant to April. This was her country. Of course, she would want her blood family to rule over the people she loved. There was no way April wanted Maya to quit, but telling Maya that she was sincerely giving her an option to opt out meant a lot.

But did she really think Maya could live a normal life after what she'd experienced this year? There was no going back to her simple days anymore. The only thing she could do was jump head first in the deep end and hope she would emerge unharmed.

"Listen, April. I'm not ready to be your heir yet or to take on the throne. Who knows if I will be by the time I'm eighteen and need to become queen? Who knows if I'll even ever be able to give up what I have here? I know I'll have regrets no matter what I choose, but either way, that normal life I had? It's gone. It was gone the moment I walked home and you and Harper were sitting on our couch. And there's nothing I can do but accept that and move on with that."

April scrutinised her with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "…You know, I see a lot of myself in you."

"I mean, it is my understanding that we look pretty similar, right?" Maya said playfully.

"I didn't want to be queen, you know? My sister being the first born had that covered so I had my own life I was leading. I was the wild child of the court. The one who had no responsibilities and played around whenever she could. I was free and did whatever I wanted."

Maya couldn't believe the revelation. She plopped down on the chaise next to April. " _You_? A wild child?!"

"Of course, I was only eleven in some dinky country, so it's not as bad as what you're imagining." April chuckled. "But what I'm saying is that I had my own dreams. I wanted to be an aviator. I wanted to pilot planes. But then everything changed, and I was forced to become the heir apparent at only eleven years of age. If you thought your training was bad, I had to learn _everything_ about diplomacy and international relations within a month. And I didn't want to. My first ruling year was an awful mess. I still couldn't get the hang of it and I could only ever think of the stuff I had to give up. I shirked responsibility whenever I could. But one day, it all just clicked for me. I realised I was ruling a country _for_ the people. I realised that I had a bigger purpose and suddenly, my regrets didn't matter as much. I grew into my role, but it took me a very long time and a lot of issues with the people of the court."

Maya was shocked. "Your wiki page makes it seem like you had things together every year you ruled."

"That is solely thanks to a very, very good advisor I had, otherwise I would have dragged Valderia into the mud. And the same goes for you. You won't be doing it alone. I'll be there, and so will anyone you need to help make the process easier for you. You'll never be alone, Maya. I promise you that. If you support and care for your country, your country will support and care for you and help guide you to what you need to do. All you have to do is listen to your people." April let out a long sigh. "Either way, you're a remarkable, strong-willed woman and there is no one I would rather assume the throne than you, Maya. It doesn't matter if you are rough around the edges and have made mistakes and gotten into trouble. You have soared unimaginably these past few months. There's a true ruler in you and you have the true makings of a real queen. Always be true to yourself, and you will always succeed. That's the number one advice I have to give you."

"And if I decide not to be the next queen?"

"I will still be proud to call you my granddaughter, if you'll allow me."

"Thank you, April."

"Anytime."

Maya wrapped the old woman up in a hug. She didn't really know why, but it felt like it was the right thing to do. And to her pleasure, April hugged her back, rubbing her back gently. Maya was glad they'd made up. April had undoubtedly become an irreplaceable part of her life too. And no matter what Maya had said, she really did feel like family.

"So… how about that lesson now?" Maya drew out of the hug with a grin. "If I recall correctly, I was supposed to have a review session on culture and historical importance."

April rose a brow. "Actually, your schedule says you have a poise lesson today."

"Dammit, I thought you wouldn't remember…"

"Time to crank out those heels~"

~.~.~

Maya was actually glad that Harper had taken matters into her own hands about the whole Josh rumour. She was pretty sure blackmail was probably illegal in some ways, but she wasn't complaining. The public apology had done its trick. Josh had gotten humiliated in front of the school because Harper forced him to apologise in his underwear (she didn't know how Harper had managed that), he'd ended up getting Saturday detentions from the IDC for public indecency, and thankfully, people stopped giving her dirty looks. She sort of was starting to blend into the background again.

But that only meant the school issue and the princess ordeal were solved. Now it was time to solve the mess with her friends. She'd gotten clearance from April that she could reveal the truth of her life to a small group of her most trusted people. So Maya had invited them to her place for a small party to make homemade pizza that weekend. Katy had gotten Harper to help her buy groceries and prepare, and though the two women kept bickering, Maya was glad that they were actually laughing and having a good time. It was more like teasing now than actual fighting. Well, except for when Harper flung a glob of pizza sauce at Katy's face and Katy had decided to retaliate by flinging chunks of dough. Cue: food fight. But thankfully, they'd already gotten the pizzas in the oven before the two women depleted the resources.

In addition to Zay, Missy, Lucas, and Riley, Maya had also invited Farkle for fun. Throughout the other little banquets earlier that year, they'd kept hanging out, and he was pretty cool. He was strange, but he was her first friend in that huge world of fame and fortune, and they'd become better friends. He said he wanted to get out more and meet other people, so she figured this was as good a time as any to let him see the world of "commoners". Plus, Riley didn't really know the others that well yet, so at least with Farkle there, she'd have someone to fall back on if she felt a little awkward.

And the best part was, to her relief, they _all_ showed up even though she hadn't hung out with them all week. Even Lucas showed up even though Maya knew he'd been busy now that the baseball season had officially started. The air was a bit awkward and they all kept giving her expectant looks through the pizza eating, but at least they could make small talk about general stuff. It was weird how it'd only been a few days since they last talked to her, yet it felt like it'd been months since she last spoke to them. Granted, it had been months since she _really_ talked with her good friends.

"I guess you guys are wondering why I brought you all here," Maya finally said and Missy pierced her with an acute look, clearly waiting to see if her explanation was worth being her friend again. "You know, aside from apologising for the hundredth time."

"Well, I figured it was because Katy makes amazing homemade pizza. Can't miss it." Zay joked.

"Damn straight!" Katy yelled. Harper covered her mouth and dragged her back in the kitchen.

"But I want to know…" Maya stared at her uneaten crust, picking off random, small crispier bits. "Did you guys stop talking to me because you thought the rumours about the senior guys were true?"

"No." Zay rose a brow. "Why would we ever believe that trashy rumour?"

Missy rolled her eyes in disgust. "We know who you are Maya. Don't belittle us like that."

"Then why?"

"We told you. It's because you lied to us, because you've been keeping some secret from us, because you've been spending less and less time with us. Because every time I wanted to hang out, you either were too busy or never answered and when I called you later, you gave us some totally bogus response that made no sense. We had enough of that crap."

"We felt like you didn't think we were good enough for you anymore." Zay added in, giving her a small smile. "Maya, I don't know if you've noticed, but you've got a lot of charisma. You're cool without even trying to be and you're gorgeous and funny, and people who meet you tend to want to be your friend because you're chill and down to earth. If you ever felt like ditching us and wanted to be popular, you could easily fit in."

"And you thought I joined their group…" It made sense. All her secrecy and then they find out she was at a Pop party. No wonder they'd assumed she'd been secretly hanging out with those buttheads.

"When we found out you'd gone to the party and didn't tell us, it hurt because it was like our worst fears were realised." Missy's lips were pursed like she didn't like the fact that she was being vulnerable right now. "You're our best friend, Maya. We need you, but it kind of seemed like you threw us all away."

"It's my fault…" Riley said in shame. "I pushed her to go to the party with me."

"It's no one's fault but my own for keeping this secret for so long." Maya couldn't have this go on for much longer. Her friends had to know the truth. "Enough is enough. It's time you guys got to know why I've been so flaky lately. Yes, Missy, I'm about to tell you why I've been so _busy_."

Missy snorted, but they all stared at her in rapt attention.

"Truth is, my full name is Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart, and I am the Crown Princess of Valderia."

She revealed to them all about her father lying and ditching them, April showing up randomly and revealing her heritage, the lessons, the banquets, the upcoming ball. Everything she could think of, she spilled it. She found it a bit amusing how with each thing she revealed, the stupefaction and sheer shock on their faces grew more pronounced. Zay was looking particularly bug eyed, and Riley looked like she was about to pass out from the shock. Both of Lucas' brows were high on his forehead, Missy had that narrowed eyed look on her face when she was having trouble understanding something, and Farkle was grinning. When Maya finished talking, there was a good silence for several seconds as they stared at her.

" _What_?!" Zay finally said, breaking the silence and clearly voicing what everyone was thinking.

"…I'm having some serious trouble digesting this." Missy rubbed her face with her hands and sounding a bit strangled. "So you're apparently a princess… And not one of us knew?"

"I knew," Farkle said simply as he popped an olive in his mouth.

Everyone turned to him, but somehow, Maya wasn't surprised he had figured it out by now. "How did you know?"

"The banquet my father hosted this past Christmas. He personally makes the guest list and does a background check on the guests for security to read through, so I was curious as to why the background for the name Maya Hart only revealed that they were the daughter of a diner worker. Honestly, you shouldn't have even been on the list. And then we met in person and I did more digging up on you, Maya, and found out you were April Dungworth's plus one to the gala. And then when I knew what to look for, I figured out who Maya Hart really was. Or should I say, Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart. Grandaughter of the Dowager Queen April Dungworth of Valderia. Daughter of the former King Kermit Dungworth of Valderia. Crown Princess of Valderia. And heir to the Valderian throne."

"Again: _what?!_ " Zay exclaimed. "Holy shit! So that's why you've been so secretive! And that's why you're always around that weird English teacher after school!"

"Bodyguard. Her name is Harper, and she can kill a man with her thumbs in fourteen ways."

"And she's always watching, Isaiah Babineaux," Harper called out from the kitchen. Zay's face looked a little wan.

"Harper, cut it out." Katy pulled her away from the door.

"So all that hypothetical 'If I were a princess' talk…?" Zay asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Real."

"You're royalty?!" Riley quickly bowed with a gasp. "Oh my gosh, I've been so impolite! I'm sorry, your majesty. Please don't execute me for treason!"

"There's no need for that." Maya groaned and swatted Riley on the shoulder. "Seriously. I'm still _Maya_. I just also happen to be the heir to the throne."

"Well that explains the stupid excuses." Missy sighed, resting a hand on top of Maya's and giving her a soft smile. "Maya, why didn't you just tell us from the start?"

"I wanted to live a _normal_ life. Like a normal teenager with _normal_ friends. Besides, I haven't even fully made my decision yet. It was all too much to take in when it happened, and I needed to make sure that I could sort out my issues first."

"We're your best friends Maya. You can trust us."

"I know that now. I'm sorry, Missy. And I know I was acting weird because of the attention I got at school, but it was just nice to be noticed, you know?"

"Noticed?" Zay looked pained. "Maya, I'm sorry if you felt that way because we were inadequate in giving you love, but we've always noticed you. We've always been around because we know how awesome you are. We noticed you. The real you and loved you for it. Wasn't that enough?"

"It was enough. More than enough. I'm so sorry, Zay. I was dumb though. I didn't pay attention to what I truly had. I can't apologise enough guys. So can you stop snubbing me in the hallway now?"

"Urgh, I guess I could try," Missy replied, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. She grinned. "So when do you ascend the throne?"

"By the time I'm eighteen. But my grandma wants me to make a public statement and reveal my identity on the Valderian Independence Day ball at the embassy in May. Once an heir is made public for the throne, dissent will finally end. Well, most I guess. They won't all be takers. But this is going to be my life from now on."

"…So if you accept, you'd have to move to Valderia in the future, right?" Lucas asked. It was a little jarring to hear his voice because he hadn't said anything up to that point since she revealed the truth. But his question definitely made everyone else realise what Maya taking the throne meant as far as their future in her life.

"I guess yeah… I move to Valderia when it's time for me to officially take the throne. I'll be living a completely different life across the ocean."

No one spoke, but from their furrowed brows, no one was pleased with the discovery of what was likely to happen.

Missy cleared her throat. "You know what? Let's talk about this later. For now, we should celebrate the mending of our friendship. Party time!"

It took a little bit to pry people away from the sudden discovery of Maya's status upgrade, but soon they were chatting and laughing and playing party games with each other. Maya plopped down on a couch, plum tired from her failed attempt to beat Zay at the ancient DDR TV game her mother had pulled out from the a storage bin. He was unstoppable, and quite frankly, she was tired of trying. Farkle could take a whack at it.

Missy sat next to her with her cup of punch. "Lost to Zay again?"

"He takes professional dancing lessons. He should have a one leg handicap." Maya muttered.

"He'd probably still beat you," Missy teased. Then they heard Riley giggling, and they both turned in that direction. Lucas and Riley were chatting by the window. She had a faint blush on her cheeks, and Lucas was smiling. "Wow. They really do look like they would be an _it_ couple and rule the school."

Maya stared down at her juice, not too happy about that statement, but she pushed it out of her mind. "Eh… I don't think they're right for each other."

Missy stared at her with this inscrutable, but kind of calculating look on her face. "…How so?"

"Well I mean they're both cut from the same cloth, so they're too alike."

"You mean, they have lots of things in common. Plus she's perfect girlfriend material. Actually kind of perfect even. So in other words, you're wrong. They'd make a good couple."

"Well… maybe." Maya frowned as she briefly glanced in their direction. "But Lucas doesn't feel comfortable being around people who present images of perfection."

"Maybe at first because he was new to JQA," Missy pressed, a devious look in her eyes that made Maya feel like she was caught in a trap. "But he doesn't have that new boy smell anymore, plus he knows so many more people now and has an established group, so it's a nonissue. I mean look at them. They're practically dating already, dontcha think, Maya~"

Maya watched them talk, her shoulders slumping at the friendly conversation they were having. But when Riley laughed happily at his joke, Maya felt her heart twinge a bit in her chest, and she turned her head away.

~.~.~

Stuffed with pizza, punch, and chips, the party had been a great success. Maya felt good about everything. To her, she was three for three on successfully mending her life issues.

"Well, Maya, it's been fun, but I have an early curfew…" Riley sighed. "I wish my dad would loosen up my grounding."

Maya rubbed her arm consolingly. "Still in trouble about the arresting thing?"

"He's just way too overprotective. Anyway, my lips are sealed about you being a princess. Thank you for deciding to tell me too."

Maya gave her a sincere hug, squeezing her tight. "Riley, you're part of my group now. You don't have to ask to hang out with us. Just stop by our lockers anytime."

She squeezed her back. "Thank you, Maya."

"Ready to go?" Farkle asked, walking up to them. "I can get you a ride home."

"You didn't bring your limo, did you?" Maya questioned.

"Of course I did. Only the best for Stuart Minkus' son!"

Maya groaned, knowing that her neighbours would again be staring, intrigued by yet another wealthy car in their humble neighbourhood. They would be asking questions and gossiping again.

Once the two bid her final farewells and left, Maya kicked off her slippers and headed over to the fire escape outside the living room window. She sat down on the edge, kicking her legs back and forth as the evening grew calmer. Her mother had finally relented and left earlier with Harper to take a spin on the motorcycle.

(Although Maya suspected the only reason why she'd said yes was because of all the wine she'd been drinking that evening).

The cleanup would be left to Maya, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to start a little later. She wanted to relax in the warmth of this spring evening. The breeze was nice, and what was even better was that the people across the street in the apartment at her level had their windows open and were watching one of the Star Wars.

"Watching the stars?" Lucas asked as he came out on the fire escape too. He sat down next to her.

"Stealing someone's cable." She pointed across the street. "Sometimes they'll leave their window open, and Saturday nights are always movie nights. Look, it's your favourite."

"Nah. I'm not a huge fan of the special editions and re-releases. The modern special effects ruin the charm."

"You can tell which edition it is from _one_ scene?" Maya blinked at him. "I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted by how nerdy you are."

"Hey. Never underestimate the nerdiness of a true nerd. I've seen the movies—all of them—over one hundred times by now."

"You make Farkle look like a jock."

Lucas laughed, rolling his eyes. "So what are your actual plans, Maya?"

"Plans?"

"About the Valderia thing. Missy deflected the conversation, but you've already made your choice, haven't you?" She was a little unnerved by how green his eyes were as he watched her carefully. "I could tell. You're going to accept the throne."

" _Basically_ , yes. I want to accept, but I'm really not ready to give up my whole life here. There's Missy. And Zay. And now Riley and Farkle too. And Yindra and Jade and Billy and Wyatt. And all the other pretty cool people I've just started to get to know this year. And there's…" Maya paused, staring at him and chewing on her lower lip anxiously. "Uh…"

"Yeah?"

"There's uh… there's you too…" she finished quietly, her cheeks burning.

Lucas didn't respond at first, just watching the movie through the neighbour's window.

"You know, whatever decision you make, I'll support you," he murmured gently, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together.

She stared at their conjoined hands, her heart warming from his sincerity. "Thanks, Lucas."

"No problem. You know, I never asked you how you were doing ever since the rumour thing ended."

"Not bad." She shrugged. "I've pretty much faded into the obscurity of school again. But I'm definitely fine with that after this last stressful week."

"So… I take it you no longer have a crush on Josh?" Lucas asked, a brow slightly raised in amusement. "Unless this makes him even more of a bad boy to you now?"

"I can't believe I _ever_ liked him." Maya made a fake gag motion with her free hand. "Missy warned me several times, but I didn't listen."

Lucas smiled slightly, that amused twinkle still dancing in his gaze. "Must have been his bad boy charms."

"I've learned my lesson. No more bad boys. _Ever_."

He shrugged. "I don't know. Some of us aren't that bad."

Maya snorted, giving him a dry look. "What?"

"I've dabbled in the art of anarchy a little bit. I got expelled from a school, remember? Doesn't that count?"

"No way. Your motivations in that situation were totally "good guy" thoughts. Hate to break it to you Huckleberry, but you're not a bad boy."

"Well damn." He tossed a twig over the railing. A few second later, they heard the noise of it hitting the sidewalk. "There goes all my street cred."

Maya laughed, pushing his shoulder. "You're such a dork."

"I'm just glad everything is sorted out now with all of us," he said.

"Me too. It was weird not having everyone around. I-it was weird not having you around too, you know?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Y-you're my friend." She wanted to punch herself in the face. Why did she keep stammering out her words like an idiot? "And I guess I missed you."

"Right. _F_ _riends_." Lucas tested out the word, semi-amused, something about his expression making her stomach flutter excitedly. "You're definitely over that crush on Josh?"

Maya stared at him, her heart beating fast as he just grinned that same shit-eating grin at her. She didn't think her face could be any more red. He was too cute for his own good. And she hated how nice his smile was.

"Yeah." She played with a frayed string of her torn jeans. "I'm completely over it."

"Good to know. Hey, I gotta go. Early training tomorrow." He rose to his feet and ruffled her hair playfully. Maya almost instantly missed the warmth from his hand. "Goodnight, Princess Shortstack Pancake Hart."

" _Bye_ , Ranger Huckleberry McBoingBoing Friar."

She rolled her eyes as Lucas left laughing. Shortly after, Missy and Zay suddenly appeared and sat on the fire escape on either side of her. From the large smiles they were failing to conceal on their faces, something told her that they had totally been spying on her and Lucas.

"Who would've thought that my best friend would be a princess?" Zay said, handing Maya a bottle of pop that she gratefully accepted. "All this time rubbing elbows and sharing dinner with a celebrity and I didn't even know. I mean, the crown princess of Valderia has seen me in my tighty whities! Why didn't you tell us from the start? I could have bragged to my mom."

"Maya, you know you can trust us now, right? With _anything_." Missy pressed. "I hate that you felt like you couldn't."

"I'll always trust you both. But this was something I had to figure out on my own first. Life was too hectic to get anyone else involved."

"I'm just glad you weren't actually ditching us, but you owe us for all the grief you caused us." Zay pointed out. "I'd say free reign to sock slide in your palace whenever we want. And since I did get a part as one of the background dancers, you have to come to all my shows when they come out. And you promise us that when you're off running a country that you'll never forget who made you who you are."

"Hmmm… Let's see. April, Harper, my mom. Snarky assholes who make my life hell?"

Missy pinched her side and made her yelp. "You mean the best damn people in the world."

Maya swung her arms over both their shoulders and pulled them close to her.

"Of course. I love you, you idiot." She kissed Zay on his cheek. Then she turned her head and kissed Missy on her cheek too. "I love you too, dumdum."

Missy wiped it off in fake disgust. "Ewww, why are you getting all mushy with us?"

"I promise you guys we'll always be best friends," Maya said seriously. "I'll never keep secrets from you two again."

"Good."

"We'll hold you to that, Maya."

They clinked the rim of their soda bottles together and then settled in to watch whatever episode of Star Wars that was.

~.~.~

The rest of the term flew by faster than Maya had expected. Their little group had grown a lot to include Riley, Yindra, Jade, Sarah, a girl named Darby, Wyatt and Billy in Lucas' grade. Farkle sometimes if he could join them as well as his something-like-a-possible-future-wife Smackle if she was available, though they didn't go to their school. It was strange to her that she could actually become good friends with more people, but Maya welcomed the new people, who were kindhearted and fun to hang out with. It wasn't as easy to hang out with Lucas and Zay because of baseball and ballet respectively, but they still tried to make time to hang out every once in a while. Lucas took her to the batting cage every once in a while, and she'd graduated from the slowest speeds and was now able to swing without letting go of the bat and nearly breaking it on the glass.

Lucas had opted out of going to prom because it was the night after a big game and he wanted to spend time with his mom, and truth be told, Maya was a little disappointed he hadn't asked her, but in the end, it hadn't made a difference since April had planned a wine tasting day anyway. Along with Harper and Katy, they'd gone to a fancy restaurant and then a wine tasting so Maya could start getting used to the flavours of wine for the future. That had been fun, but it had also been her last official lesson.

She'd already taken her official comprehensive final exam. (Which took almost eight hours to complete!). All that was left was for her to make her decision about ruling.

"Maya, you have done remarkably." April said. Nearby them, Harper gave Maya a thumbs up. "You passed with flying colours. I have nothing more to teach you."

Maya hugged April. "Thanks for everything. Putting up with me. Teaching me."

"No problem at all, my dear." She kissed her forehead tenderly.

"Hey, once all this crazy stuff is done, when are you going back to Valderia?"

"Can't wait to get rid of me?"

"That's not it." Maya laughed, pulling away from her to start putting her stuff back in her school bag.

April had been so stiff when she'd first met her. And now she was cracking jokes and smiling more often and loosening up. They'd come a long way.

"I suppose after the ball." She pondered, rubbing her chin. "I cannot leave my country unattended forever. Especially with the current situation at court."

"Right… So, I was thinking. Since we won't get a chance to really hang out much here, why not spend more time together in the summer?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I want to come to Valderia this summer. I have to know the country I'm going to rule, right?"

"You…" Her eyes widened so comically huge that Maya almost burst out laughing. "You decided…?"

"Yupp. I'm going to become queen of Valderia." Maya grinned. "Also, I want to go to Valderia because I got to know the queen, but I want to get to know my _grandmother_ much better, you know?"

April swallowed thickly, her lower lip trembling the slightest bit. "I would love that."

"Great. See you later then… Grandma."

Maya grabbed her bag and hurried to leave so she could take a subway to Zay's, but as she passed through the doorway, she heard April sniffle. She stopped shy of leaving and stood discreetly in the doorway, watching April and Harper.

April wiped away a dainty tear as she sniffled again.

Harper was grinning as she passed her a clean handkerchief. "What's wrong, your Highness?"

"Nothing. She… she called me Grandma for the first time."

Harper chuckled, pouring some more tea. "Your nose isn't going to start running is it? Because you're quite the ugly crier, your Highness."

April laughed, sniffling again as she started to break down into happy tears. "Oh be quiet, you."

Maya turned away with a smile on her face.

~.~.~

Maya made a silent wish on the envelope for success as she placed it in the post office mailbox on the corner as she made her way to school that morning.

She'd sent an invite to her unveiling ball to Kermit, though she wasn't confident he would show up. A lot of bad memories were involved with his past with Valderia. But she was hoping it would be one step to reconciling him with April. After all, him being able to be invited was because his mother allowed his ban to be dropped officially. It all depended on whether he wanted to come or not now. But she hoped he would. Him accepting would essentially be a sign to April that he accepted her apology.

Maya had already mailed Farkle's invite to him. She allowed him a plus one so he could bring his girlfriend Smackle on the RSVP. All that was left was to invite the rest of her friends before she left for more ball training that afternoon.

"Here you are." Maya handed the ornately decorated invitation to Missy with a fancy hot pink bow. "One ticket to my unveiling ceremony. VIP. And you get to stay with me at the embassy overnight."

Missy immediately whipped out her phone. "I need to find the most expensive ball gown I can afford. With Tricia's money of course. Also, who's doing your makeup?"

"Giuseppe Ronaldo. He's a family friend."

"G-Giuseppe Ronaldo?!" Missy had to lean back against the lockers, her hand on her chest. She looked like she was close to passing out. "I think I'm having a heart attack, Maya. That's it! I'm actually mad at you that you never told me you were royalty before this!"

"I knew you only liked me because I'm a princess…" Maya drawled.

Missy laughed but patted Maya's shoulder. "Thanks for the invite. I gotta go. Hot date."

Maya managed to track down Billy and Wyatt before they left for their baseball and basketball practices, respectively. Sarah and Darby were both in yearbook club, so they were staying late after school and she'd snuck them their invites. She'd found Yindra and Jade sharing a smoothie at the shopping centre near their school. The six didn't really understand what the ball was for, but a fancy dress up party in a huge embassy mansion with food was a clincher and they promised they would definitely be there. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they finally learned who she really was.

"That leaves Riley, Zay, and Lucas…"

Lucas had already left for the field when Maya caught Billy, so she'd just missed him, but Maya was able to find Riley about to leave to cheer at a basketball game and ran up to her quickly.

"Riley! Here's your invite to my unveiling ball. VIP so you can access any room at the embassy."

"This is awesome!" Riley jumped and down excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun; I can't wait!"

"Yeah." Maya shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her arm. "Riley, can we talk?"

"What's up?"

"Umm, I think I should tell you. I'm planning to invite Lucas… as my plus one to the ball."

She nearly cringed at her terminology, but she wasn't sure how to tell Riley she wasn't really inviting him as _just_ a friend. But Riley seemed to get the gist of it.

Riley nodded in understanding. "You know, I had a feeling you liked him. When I asked about him a while ago, I just remembered the look on your face and the way you talked about him. Plus he gets this look on his face when he talks to you. Like he's on cloud nine. I think he likes you likes you, Maya!"

Maya's cheeks burned red, and she almost choked on her words. "No hard feelings?"

"Why are you avoiding to respond?" Riley poked her playfully. "But yeah, no hard feelings. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

Maya smiled. "Don't forget to RSVP."

"I won't! I gotta go, but thanks for the invite!"

Riley scurried off while Maya pondered where to find Zay. At this point, the only place she hadn't checked was detention. She knew he wasn't home though, because he hadn't answered any of her texts.

And sure enough, when she looked into the room, Zay was sitting in one of the chairs, working on his designated detention essay. The proctor wasn't inside so with a sigh, Maya walked in and headed over to his desk.

"Didn't do your homework?"

He grinned, all teeth. "Nope. But it was worth it."

"Alright. Well, last but certainly not least, Isaiah Babineaux." Maya plopped his invite on his desk. "VIP. And you're staying overnight at the embassy."

"I thought you'd forgotten about me for a second there."

"Never. You were my first true friend, Zay. I'd never forget you." She tried to appear nonchalant and slid another invite on his desk. "Also this is Lucas' invite. Can you give it to him for me?"

He grinned evilly. "Nope. Do it yourself."

"C'mon _Zay_."

"C'mon nothing. Why do you have no qualms inviting everyone except him, hmmm? Almost like you like him."

Maya's face burst into flames. "It's not like that!"

"Then you should have no problems giving him the invite, right?" Zay dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

She snatched the invite back up and stuck out her tongue at him. "Fine!"

And then she had to hightail it out of the room when Mrs. Gibson walked back in and caught her.

~.~.~

Maya held her breath as she walked up the bleachers to where some of the baseball guys were taking a short break and drinking water. Some of the guys were shirtless, and she was a little (a lot) embarrassed when a bunch of them stared at her as she passed by them and walked straight over to Lucas. (Who thankfully was wearing a shirt). But his teammates were being annoying and obnoxious and had begun to cheer loudly, whistling and hollering and catcalling. She flipped them all off and hurried up to get her task done.

"Your pig sweat is actually really gross," Maya said as she stopped beside him.

He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, making it stand all up at odd angles. "Maya, what a nice surprise! What can I help you with?"

From the look on his face, he knew exactly why she was here. She had a feeling Billy's dumb ass had said something.

"Here." She practically threw the invite at him. "This is for you."

"I don't understand. What is?" Lucas asked patronisingly.

"This letter. Just read it."

"But what if it's a joke card that'll spray water on me," he said innocently. "I don't want to open it."

"Lucas…" she growled. "It's not a joke card, so just open it."

"I don't think I want to. At least, not until you tell me what it is~"

"Fine. It's an invite to my unveiling ball. Will you come to the Valderian Independence Day Ball on the 26th? I would really appreciate it, and I need some familiar faces in a sea of all those diplomats and world leaders."

Lucas' answering grin infuriated her. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? I'll do anything for my _friend_."

"I meant as my date, Lucas!" she blurted out.

He stared at her in slight surprise, and Maya's face immediately went up in flames. Holy crap. That was so not the way she had wanted to invite him.

"Okay bye now!"

Maya turned in a flourish to run, but Lucas stopped her by taking her wrist. "I would love to go as your date, Maya. Thanks for the invite. I think I have a game that night, but I'll try to make it."

She stared up at him, her heart thudding in her chest. "O-okay."

"Are you scared?" He asked her softly, shifting his hand so he was holding hers properly. "This is your throne accepting day after all. After that, everything will change."

"Yeah… I'm uh, I'm handling it like I normally do."

He smirked. "Food?"

"Oh yeah. Lots of it." Maya looked down at their conjoined hands. "I'm ready for the change in my life, but I don't know if you guys will be. I don't want to make your lives more miserable because of who I am."

"No one's worrying about that. We know what we signed up for with you. _I_ know what I signed up for with you." He tilted her chin up and gave her a warm smile. "Maya, you'll do great. I know they'll see you the way I see you. A beautiful girl who's strong and courageous and caring and has a fire burning in her. Someone who will make an excellent queen."

She couldn't help but smile back, holding his gaze and feeling like she really wanted him to kiss her. Like really kiss her.

But Coach Carter's grating voice suddenly cut into their conversation. "Friar, stop talking to your girlfriend already, hurry the hell up, and get your ass in gear or it's another mile for you!"

"Coming Coach!" He turned back to Maya. "Just concentrate on being you, and I know everyone will be enchanted."

With those words, he let go of her hand and hurried to go catch up with other guys, and Maya was pretty sure _she_ was floating on air. She didn't really know what they were, but she knew exactly what the rapidly beating heart and sweaty palms and flushing she felt around him meant.

She liked Lucas. And she had a feeling she'd liked him for a while now.

~.~.~

The nice clothes she had to wear for banquets and galas had nothing on the huge, puffy princess gown she was wearing. She thought it was a monstrous dress, but she couldn't lie that the skirt glittering every time she moved was super enrapturing. And though the bodice was restricting her upper body movement and her ability to breathe, it did add a nice shape to the cinched waist. She hated the high _high_ heels she was wearing, though she was so glad she'd learned to walk in them, because this night could have ended as a total disaster with her tripping down the stairs. White gloves up to her elbows adorned her arms, her makeup had been done to perfection with her hair pinned up in a neat bun with pins and diamonds making it look glittery. Two strands of wavy hair framed her face. Her jewellery was probably worth the tuition at her school, and Giuseppe had warned her if she lost or broke any of them, he would kill her, future queen be damned.

But the most incredible thing was the priceless tiara passed down through generations of generations of generations. It shimmered in the light, adorned with countless 24 karat diamonds and pure silver. For something so old, it was definitely kept up well.

"This was mine back when I was princess," April said fondly as she placed it gingerly on Maya's head and secured it. "Now it's yours. Wear it with pride and with care."

Maya looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't even look like herself, but her stylists and makeup artists were all gushing over how she looked. And before she knew it, she was being herded down the hall to the presentation ballroom with April and Katy flanking her, and Harper walking at the ready nearby and scoping out any dangers.

The ballroom was more grand than she had ever expected. Everything was just so huge and outrageous that it made her even more nervous about what was to come. There were seriously so many princes and queens and important public figures from different countries here and the presidents of nations, and Maya was borderline freaking out because at some point that night, her grandmother wanted her to get acquainted with _all_ of them. Not one or two, but every single one.

Katy was more of a wreck than Maya was though, alternating between downing the free champagne and sobbing into a handkerchief until Harper decided to help her get some fresh air to chill out a bit.

Maya spent her time chatting amiably with a few princes and some politicians. Missy and Zay and some of her other friends were in the crowd, but they kept their distance for now. They understood that she had to schmooze and socialise with the aristocracy a bit before the real partying began. But their presence was a definite comfort for her wild nerves. One glance at them helped her calm down when she started to feel overwhelmed.

At exactly fifteen past eight, her grandmother ended her conversation with the queen of England and arrived at Maya's side to notify her that it was time for the main event. Maya followed her up to the podium, and after April requested their attention, the crowd gradually topped talking, their attention fully on the little stage. Maya could only stare at the people in the audience, her mind going blank as she realised just how many people were here. That public speaking underwear trick would not work tonight.

"I know many of you must be wondering why an old coot is rambling, so without further ado, I present you, Maya Hart, our keynote speaker this evening." April stepped away from the podium and gestured to Maya, waiting for her to step forward.

Maya missed her cue because she stood right in place, chewing anxiously on her lips. She hadn't even heard anything April had said while addressing the crowd. Some soft murmurs filled the room at her sudden loss of ability to do _anything_. At least until Harper cleared her throat and gave her a soft nudge forward.

Maya jolted to life and approached the podium with wide, terrified eyes. She'd never been this nervous in her life. There were way too many people here and it was scaring the crap out of her. With shaky fingers, she pulled out the speech she had meticulously prepared for the occasion.

"Umm… Hello. Err, I mean good evening. My uh… my name is—" Feedback from the mic blasted in the air and people all winced, cringing at the sharp whining. "Sorry… My n-name is Maya Hart… and I am here today to address… to address…"

What the hell was she doing?

Since when was she a meticulous, do everything perfect kind of person? This whole prim and proper speech thing was stupid.

"My name is Maya Hart, and… this is stupid." She tore her index cards in half. Zay gasped loudly along with some others from the crowd, and Missy nudged him sharply to shut up. But when Maya turned around to look at April, she was nodding proudly. Maya took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "By _this_ , I mean the whole perfect girl thing. That's never been my modus operandi, and every time I've tried has ended in some sort of disaster. Some of you know exactly who I am. Some of you don't know me at all. Some of you probably don't care right now. But if I'm going to introduce myself to you all, I'll do it my way. Before this becomes a trainwreck.

"My name is Maya Hart. I was born and raised here in New York City, in a humble apartment with my single mother. I am a screwup, someone who messed up so many times before she discovered a new life that she never imagined would be hers. But she accepted it, she persevered and now look where she is today. Standing in front of a huge crowd on the Valderian Independence Day Ball and being allowed to speak to you all. What I'm trying to say is that my life has never been in my control from day one, but I'm choosing my destiny now. Taking the bull by its horns and making the best of my future. I will be triumphant. For me, for the people I love, for the people of Valderia, for the people in the world."

She scanned the crowd and her eyes stopped when they landed on her father's unruly mess of long blonde hair. He was standing at the very back close to the doors leading to the garden, but she could recognise him anywhere. He gave her a thumbs up and then his gaze shifted to somewhere beyond her. To April no doubt. Maya wasn't sure what expression April was wearing on her face but after a few moments, Kermit's mouth lifted into a small smile.

"My name is Maya Hart. I am the granddaughter of the Dowager Queen April Dungworth. And that is why, I, Crown Princess Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart, will accept the crown, will accept the responsibility and will do everything in my power to rule Valderia with a strong, but gentle hand, kindness, courage, and compassion. I will protect my people and work tirelessly to meet the needs of my country. I hope I will become a woman who the Valderians will be proud to call their queen. Thank you."

Katy started wailing and April clapped proudly as the crowd began to applause. Cameramen and reporters all approached, trying to get a coveted first interview and to take as many pictures as possible. But Maya paid them no mind. She climbed off the podium to the applause and ran to hug her mom. She then hugged April who was also crying and then Harper (who suspiciously wiped away what seemed like a tear) and then she turned to climb down the stairs to run to her friends.

At least, until she tripped on her dress and tumbled face first to the floor, sprawled out. She let out a foul curse which rang out throughout the whole room. There were shocked gasps and the place fell totally silent as people stared at her. It was completely silent.

Maya felt like she wanted to crawl in a hole and die, until she glanced up slowly at the snickers she heard. Ambassador Ramos was a little ways away laughing to himself and giving her a thumb up. Grinning, Maya started laughing too, beginning a chain reaction of many other people also laughing with her at her little blunder. Even April was dying of laughter, clutching her stomach as she tried to control herself.

Maya picked herself up off her feet with the help of some guards and then rushed the rest of the way over to her friends. She wrapped her arms around Zay and Missy and the others filled in around them, cheering her on.

~.~.~

Maya stretched her sore aching feet outside, resting near the fountain in the garden. Most everyone was inside dancing so thankfully, she had the place to herself for some privacy. She'd danced with so many princes, with government officials, noblemen, so many people that she was completely exhausted. She wanted a little break but the party had _just_ started, and it wasn't even at the rambunctious part yet and people weren't even drunk yet, and if it was this bad now, it was going to get nuts. She was used to wearing heels, but not for long periods of time and she felt like her feet were going to fall off. April hadn't been kidding. She had to get her rest now while she could.

It was a shame her father had left before she could find him though. She'd seen him talking to his mother, but after that, he'd disappeared. She supposed he must have been too busy to talk, but the fact that he came meant enough for her. Maybe it was time to start communicating with him again.

She was lost in her thoughts of how she could possibly sneak away somewhere to grab a burger and a soda somewhere when someone—who smelled _really_ good—sat down beside her with a soft groan. It was Lucas in a super cute suit wearing a green tie that brought out the colour of his eyes. Maya suddenly started to feel incredibly shy.

"You came."

"Sorry, the game ran extra innings so we finished up late. I got hit in the shoulder by a ball so I had to get that checked out."

"Are you okay?"

"It's just a bad bruise. It'll be gone in a week." He grinned. "I knew I probably should shower so I went home to take care of that. I know how you hate my pig sweat. I missed the speech though. Sorry."

"It's okay. It was all crappy word vomit anyway."

"That's not the impression I got from talking to our friends. Well, at least until that tumble you supposedly took. Also," he gestured to the interior, "is that the queen of England?"

Maya snickered, nodding. "Yeah. I can't believe she used to tutor my grandmother."

"This is intimidating…"

"Tell me about it." Maya rolled her eyes. "Imagine how I feel, stuck in this world I'm totally an amateur at. I look like a mess and I'm probably the laughing stock of everyone here. I'm so inelegant—I mean _falling on my face_?! That's some Goofy type shit. And I totally stepped on so many people's feet by accident."

Lucas waited patiently as she continued to rant about things she'd done wrong. He didn't say anything as she spoke, just watched her with that same look of interest, though he did look like he was about to burst out laughing. When she finally stopped talking, he rose to his feet.

"Are you done?" he asked, brushing dirt off his pants.

Maya stared up at him in confusion. "Yeah, just about."

"Good. Because I think you're dead wrong. You're beautiful. And you're enrapturing, and I can't take my eyes off of you because you're funny and witty and you make me laugh and you make me feel like my world is finally turning, Maya."

He leaned down and grasped her hands in his. Lucas pulled her up to her feet and Maya sucked in a sharp breath when he pulled her closer. Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears.

"Now I'm rambling. This scenery is making me nervous. A lot to live up to… Damn. This pressure is intense," he mumbled, the tips of his ears a bit red.

"Pressure?"

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "To make a picture perfect moment."

"Like… what?" she asked softly.

He shrugged, though he was grinning. "Like… kissing you for example."

Maya snorted, though she couldn't keep her face from flaming. That damn treacherous face of hers! "Who would ever want to kiss you, you damn Huckleberry?"

He only continued to watch her fondly. "I was hoping you would."

Maya could feel herself panicking. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. "You're not supposed to leave my joke hanging there, you know?"

"Maya, I'm falling hard for you." His gaze softened as he reached up and cupped her cheek. Her heart felt like it was about to bounce out of her chest from his point blank confession. "I've been falling for you for a while now, to be honest. Since November. And you know what's funny? Zay told me I would end up liking The Blonde Beauty before I even met you but I didn't believe him and when he introduced us, I thought he was delusional to ever think so, but it turned out to be true. I know you're a princess, and I'm this weird country boy you've known for only a handful of months, but I feel this real connection with you. And I want to see where this goes."

Holy shit.

She didn't know what to say at all and just blinked up at him, though her throat tightened, and she felt like she was about to grow wings and fly.

"I may be wrong," he said playfully, stroking her cheek, "but isn't this the part where you respond? Not that you have to, but just know I'm starting to get nervous. And with the nerves come clammy palms. And I don't think you'll like the clammy palms. Think a frog's skin here."

"I'm just…" Her stupid eyes were tearing up for some stupid reason, and she hated that she felt so emotional, but what he was doing to her felt like nothing she'd ever experienced before. The swelling of her heart in her chest, her happiness, the success of her unveiling, her dad coming. All of it combined was making it hard for her not to cry. "I don't know what to say."

"Well… How do you feel about me?" Lucas asked a bit cautiously, though hopeful.

"You're Huckleberry and Ranger Rick and you're nutty and such a dork and you act so dumb sometimes and sometimes I want to punch you, but sometimes I just want to kiss you and you make my heart race, but I'm terrified because I've never felt this way towards anyone before. What I'm… pretty inarticulately trying to say to you is… I'm falling for you too, Lucas. Actually… I already did and I didn't even know it. You came out of nowhere and snatched my heart, you stupid Huckleberry thief."

Lucas smiled. Then he leaned down and kissed her gently, silencing the crazy thoughts jumbling in her mind.

And it was _perfect_.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as the sky burst into fireworks and the garden and fountain lights lit up and twinkled in the night. She wasn't sure if it was all in her mind or not, but what she knew was that _this_ felt right. This felt better than that disgusting kiss at the party. This felt like what the movies and the books described. _This_ felt like everything she'd always dreamed about in a first kiss and more.

Her cheeks were bright red when they broke apart. Even Lucas' face was a little red, though they both had goofy grins on their faces and were laughing happily to each other.

"So… I'm not going to get executed for kissing a princess, right?" he murmured against her lips.

"Maybe a week in the dungeons top."

They kissed again, Maya smiling against his lips.

~.~.~

"Alright. Have courage, Maya."

Maya took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she clenched her fists, staring at the oak door of her English teacher's office. Sucking it up with a sigh, she raised her hand and knocked briskly. The irony of the similarity of the situation from months ago was not lost on her.

"Who is it?" Came his monotone reply.

"Maya Hart."

"Come in."

Maya pushed open the door and walked into the swanky office. Mr. Fairhaven was typing on his desktop, his nose tipped down as he looked at his screen over the rim of his glasses. Her failed paper was resting on the edge of his desk on her side, facing her like a bad omen.

"Miss Hart," he said, gesturing to the rickety wooden chair across from the paper. "Please have a seat."

She sat down in the chair, already anticipating him chastising her and mentally preparing for it.

"Your paper about the novel was unacceptable," he said without prelude. "You are to have your mother sign it and return it to me by the end of the week."

"Look, Mr. Fairhaven, I'm sorry, but I had a press conference the night before and went home late and couldn't work on it in time. Plus I've been so busy since my unveiling that I haven't had enough time to read the book."

"We're all busy, Miss Hart." He droned in disinterest, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Your life circumstances are not an excuse for you to get lazy with your work. I want your mother to sign this failed paper and have the new one on my desk by Friday. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

With a sigh, she stuffed the paper in her bag and left the classroom. As if on cue, students in the hall began to stare at her. Maya walked faster down the hall. She was still not used to all the stares and whispering and people clicking secret pics sometimes. Fame was quickly becoming overrated.

The aftermath of the ball and the realisation of the school that Maya was a princess had been _enormous_. April hadn't been lying about the attention. There were paparazzi everywhere, and it wasn't just Maya they harassed, but her friends as well. It was to be expected, but everyone assured her they knew what it took to be Maya's friend. Zay had joked that this new thing was no more difficult than it had always been being Maya's friend. A lot of Maya's teachers were weird around her now, probably unsure of how to behave around royalty.

(It was hella funny how some people thought they had to bow when she walked by them in the hallways though. It was totally unnecessary, but Josh Matthews was one of those people trying to kiss her ass after being such a jerk and hey, she may have been a princess, but nobody said she couldn't be petty).

The only person aside from her friends who hadn't changed their behaviour was Mr. Fairhaven, and it was surprisingly refreshing for Maya, who didn't really like that with being ousted as a soon to be queen, it made people think they had to walk on eggshells around her. April had said things would die down eventually and people would calm down, but that wasn't happening right now with the revelation being so fresh. Maya figured the school would be happy though. She'd heard from Missy that the demand to enroll in the school had shot up to a much higher waiting list now that people knew a princess was attending it. But even weirder was the Wikipedia article that was being written about her now. She wished some aspects of her personal life weren't on display, but this was a price to pay for her future life.

She and Lucas had decided to hold off on dating or becoming official, keeping things light and chill while Maya's life was still hectic from her unveiling ceremony and while she was still trying to get used to and figure out this princess business. But they'd promised each other they'd come back to the "girlfriend/boyfriend" thing one day to figure things out between them and see where things went.

(That wasn't to say they didn't go out on dates every once in a while and make out often. What? No way was she going to give Lucas up that easily when he looked that hot in his baseball uniform).

And speaking of Lucas in a baseball uniform…

He was leaning by her locker waiting for her when she turned the corner. As soon as he saw her, he smiled that totally swoonworthy smile that always made Maya's heart skip beats. How could she have ever thought she liked Josh over Lucas?

"Hey, Shortstack." He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.

"If you kiss me like that in front of all these paparazzi, you'll start a scandal Huckleberry…"

"Hmm… that's true."

Lucas kissed her briefly again. Then on her nose. Maya grinned up at him.

"How'd your meeting with your teacher go?"

"Same as always. He was completely impassive and unimpressed and doesn't give a crap who I am. It's actually really refreshing you know. But what are you still doing here? Your practice started ten minutes ago, didn't it?"

"I wanted to see you before you went home." His grin was cheeky. "Besides, you're worth the wrath of my coach."

"Aww, Huckleberry." She patted his cheek. "You're making me sick to my stomach. Stop being so sappy."

"I can't help it."

She rose to her tiptoes and gave him an obnoxious eskimo kiss right as Missy and Riley turned the corner and walked up to them.

"Eww gross." Missy fake barfed. "Yes, we encourage your relationship, but that doesn't mean we want to see all that mush. Get a room."

Lucas chuckled. "I really should get going anyway. See you, Maya."

He dropped one more quick kiss on her lips before letting her go and heading out to go to his practice.

"Urgh. You two sparkle whenever you're together. It's gross."

"I think they're really cute!" Riley exclaimed. "And she's so small, and he's so tall it's adorable."

Zay came up, yawning loudly, bags under his eyes like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. "You guys want to get out of here? There are some paps collecting outside again to snap pics of the new princess."

Maya sighed. "Sorry about this, guys."

"Why are you apologising again? I told you we were already prepared for this. Just be you."

"I have cheerleading, but I'll head over to your place when I'm done," Riley said. "Please try to study this time guys!"

"We'll do our best." Zay was very obviously lying. They were planning on going to the embassy to slide down the railing of the stair. Harper told them it was official polishing day and the slippery-ness was perfect.

"Bye!" Riley hurried off.

"Yeah, we should go, but I can't stay for very long. Farah is taking me out on a date and I need minimum two hours to get ready," Missy bragged, flipping her glossy hair over her shoulder.

"Then you're buying lunch," Zay pointed out.

"Fair enough."

Maya beamed and the three of them linked arms to leave.

Everything was starting to fall into place.

~.~.~

Maya leaned back in her chair cushion, enjoying the wonderful recliner of the private jet. Her trip to Valderia for the summer was already off to a great start with the first class service. Maya had also decided to spend other holidays at the country. She wanted to get to know it better. Being a ruler of a country you've never lived in would be hard, so she was going to take this opportunity to really get acquainted with the country. That way, the dissenters also had one less thing to complain about. She'd read somewhere that some people were displeased with a queen who had never even lived in Valderia, so Maya was going to make sure that they met her and that she changed their minds so they could see how invested she was in this.

"I sure as hell hope this air is cleaner than New York," Katy said, leaning back in her own plush jet chair and trying to relax, but she kept looking out the window at the view.

"The air is of the cleanest in the world, Katy," Harper responded, putting down her magazine. "Plus they've got wonderful bakeries. I know how you like your pastries."

"Ah, pastries. The quickest way to my heart."

"In that case," Harper gave her a box with a bunch of Danish pastries and waggled her eyebrows. "Pastry?"

Katy rolled her eyes but laughed as she took it. "Well that and not shipping Rodger and Karim."

"There's just no winning with you."

"Well maybe if you just admitted that Rodland is the better couple, we might get somewhere," Katy singsonged.

Harper had that faux lighthearted grin on her face again, the one that held caustic sarcastic undertones. "I'd rather be disembowelled, babe~"

"Look outside, my dear," April said, drawing Maya's attention away from her mother and Harper's flirting. "We're here."

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Maya took some pictures of the view of the plains below to send to Missy and Zay and all her friends back home. This was so exciting.

"It's beautiful, Grandma," Maya said to April. "I love it already."

April patted her hand gently with a huge grin on her face.

"Welcome to Valderia, Maya."


	4. Epilogue

~.~.~

Maya Rinollo Apollonia Villavicci Penelope Dungworth Hart. Sixteen years old. Rising junior at John Quincy Adams Private Academy.

Status: Princess

~.~.~


End file.
